Ky Narec and ObiWan Kenobi: Two Jedi, One Man
by Lincoln Six Echo
Summary: AU. A Jedi Padawan is sent on an undercover mission under the name of Ky Narec, but he crashes on Rattatak and meets and trains Asajj Ventress. Don't be fooled, this is an ObiWan story from start to finish. ObiWan is Ky! Read to know how it's possible!
1. Chapter 1

Note: story is being reposted doing to a some kind of problem with FFnet. I wasn't able to update it.

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Well, as I've already said, this is my final "Star Wars" story. I've moved on to a new fandom and I'm now interested in writing about another honourable man with a tragic life. The fandom is NCIS, the character is L.J. Gibbs, and I'm writing there as Gunnery Sergeant. I would love if some of you, faithful readers that added me to your author alerts, would like to take a look to my new works. If you are interested in NCIS too, of course. :)

The story you are about to read is one of my favourite works ever. This is why I kept it for last. As the Romans said, _dulcis in fundo_ (the best at the end). I hope you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**The Jedi In Asajj Ventress' Life**

**By Lincoln Six Echo**

A/N: _this story, while being very AU, is based the account the comics give of Asajj Ventress, of her past, and of her strange relationship with Obi-Wan. I only twisted some things here and there._

_For those not familiar with Asajj Ventress' past, according to the canon, she was born on Rattatak, a planet constantly at war. Her warlord parents were killed when she was still very young by other warlords. Then, one day a Jedi knight named Ky Narec crashed on Rattatak. He found Asajj, discovered her Force ability and began training her. They fought side by side and managed to pacify half of Rattatak. Alas, the other half was not pleased by it, and Narec was killed, before he could complete Asajj's training. Asajj's vented her pain and rage over Narec's killers, but also on the Jedi, that she thought had abandoned her master._

**Part One**

The wind blew on the mountainous expanses of Rattatak, and the air, filtering between caves and gorges, created a noise that sounded like a wail—or so fourteen-year-old Asajj Ventress thought as she sat by her parents' graves.

The Rattataki girl hugged her knees, pressing her face against them as she valiantly fought the tears that threatened to spring from her yes.

She had been taught from early infancy to be strong, to not show weakness, but it was difficult to be strong when you were left alone in a world perpetually at war. As for showing weakness, there was no one near to witness her tears, only the two mounds of rocks that covered her parents' remains.

Asajj sniffled, losing her control, and broke into agonized sobs.

"I miss you, Mother and Father," she babbled between her tears. "I miss your love and guidance. How could I ever follow your steps and become a warrior you could be proud of without your example? How will I ever be able to gather the Southern Hemisphere tribes in only one army as you planned to do? How?"

Asajj brushed her eyes and looked toward the reddish landscape surrounding her, trying to find answers to her questions, answers her parents could no longer give her.

It was then that she saw something cross the sky at high speed, coming in her direction.

Without losing time, Asajj stood and ran to seek shelter in one of the many caverns of the area. Once she felt safe, she returned to look at the sky and at the strange object moving toward her.

_Has Osika Kirske or one of the other warlords created a new weapon?_ Asajj thought fearfully, as the flying object came closer and bigger. A new type of cannon?

The flying object's trajectory ended when it impacted to the ground in the clearing near her parents' graves, but no explosion followed.

Perplexed, her curiosity warring with caution, Asajj emerged from her hiding placed and knelt behind a rock, staring at the strange thing. It was way too big to be a missile; it looked more like one of their tanks, but it had…wings? Was it a flying machine?

Asajj almost jumped when a hatch slid open and a head appeared.

A man – or at least she thought it was a man – looked around, using his arms to push his whole body out of his craft. He jumped down to the ground, landing on his knees, scanning the area. His tense body posture hinted he was fully alert and ready to spring at the first sign of danger—which was not late to come.

Blaster rifles and mid-range cannons unleashed a rain of fire on the stranger, the attack coming from a nearby hill.

Asajj raised her binoculars and looked up. Yes, it was Kirske's army, shooting from their new stronghold.

Her gaze returned to the site where the stranger had landed, fully expecting him to see him dead under her enemies' fire, and her eyes opened wide in surprise.

Far from being dead, the stranger was standing tall in the middle of the clearing and was using a weapon Asajj had never seen before to deflect the blasters bolts. It looked like a sword—and the stranger handled it like one—but the blade was not made by metal. It was made of…light?

Yes, Asajj could not find a better way to describe the wondrous blue blade the stranger was using with such efficiency.

As the attack continued, Asajj watched the stranger retreat and move toward the nearby mountain, obviously looking for shelter. He was slowly backing toward her position and it was then that Asajj Ventress made the decision destined to change her life forever: she decided to help the stranger.

The girl had no idea of who the man was, but Kirske was trying to kill him just like he had tried to kill her. She also knew that alone, without someone to protect her, she would not last long, but maybe, if she convinced the man to join her, then there could be hope. For both of them. Maybe the stranger was the answer to the questions she had asked to her parents' graves.

Making her mind up, Asajj stood up from her hiding place and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Quick! Come here, I know a place where you can hide!" She was not even sure the stranger would understand her words, but blessedly he did.

He ran in her direction so fast she barely saw him and stopped by her side.

"Follow me," she instructed, leading the way into one of the caves. It was very long, with passageways that ran along and across the entire mountain, allowing people to enter by one side and exit kilometres away in a completely different location.

They walked in silence for several minutes, until they reached the cavern her family had used for shelter before her parents had decided to move against Kirske.

There was food and water there, and blankets and weapons—everything they might need.

Asajj lit the glow rods scattered along the circular cavity and then returned to face her guest.

Now that she had the time to study him calmly, she noticed he was a young man. Even if he obviously belonged to a different tribe than Asajj's, she was sure he could not be older than twenty.

He had short brownish-red hair on his head, but no beard or moustache and his skin was pink, not as white as hers. He was also quite short, with no evident musculature, and had not Asajj just seen him fight, she would have been very disappointed for he didn't look at all like a warrior.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Ky Narec," he answered with a low, strongly accented voice. "And you are?"

"Asajj Ventress."

"Honoured to meet you, Asajj Ventress," Narec answered with a bow. "Thank you for offering me shelter."

"Who you are? Where have you come from? Who is your tribe?" Asajj clamped her lips shut to stop the flood of questions.

The young man smiled slightly. "I'm from Coruscant."

"Coruscant?" Asajj frowned. She had never heard that name. "Where is it?"

"It's in the Core; it's the capital of the Republic."

_Core? Republic?_ Asajj had the impression she and the stranger spoke two different languages.

"What planet is this?" Narec asked.

"This is Rattatak…of course. What other planet could it be?" Asajj thought that maybe the stranger had hit his head while landing.

"Rattatak? Never heard of it, but then, there are so many inhabited planets in the Republic…"

"So many worlds? You mean…you mean that you come from a different planet?" Asajj almost stammered, eyes wide.

Narec smiled again. "Yes, Asajj. I come from a different planet: Coruscant, the one I mentioned before."

It would have been easy to believe Narec was just a madman inventing stories, but then how to explain his light sword, his flying machine and his look? No, Asajj felt the man was telling the truth. So she tried to digest what he had said, wondering what kind of worlds existed in the sky and if all of them were like Rattatak.

Her musing were interrupted by a slight noise. She turned toward Narec and saw his cheeks were flushed. She understood it was out of embarrassment as his stomach rumbled again.

The expression on his face made her smile for the first time in weeks.

"Come," Asajj said, tilting her head toward the cooking unit near the opposite wall. "I've food and you seem quite hungry."

"I'm hungry. I cannot remember the last time I had a real meal. My journey was supposed to last only eleven hours, thus I brought only a few rationbars with me. I couldn't imagine my navi-computer would malfunction and that, when I would drop out of hyperspace I would be in some uncharted territory. I've been trying to find my way home for the past ten days…"

Asajj nodded, although she had no idea of what hyperspace or a navi-computer were. She just knew the stranger was hungry and she was too.

"Come," she repeated. "Let's eat something and then you will tell me more about this "Republic" of yours…"


	2. Chapter 2

Asajj watched as Ky Narec exercised with his light sword in a clearing near their refuge. The place was invisible from the nearby hills, making it perfect for them to be in open space and enjoy the sun.

Ky had exercised every day since his arrival, one week before, and Asajj had been watching him every time.

His routine never changed: first he would do a series of movements that he called _katas_, and then he would engage in a period of what he called meditation.

Asajj of course preferred to watch Ky perform the _katas_. The series of movements were executed with his sword switched on, and they could be both agonizingly slow or blinding fast.

They involved bending, straightening, turning, kicking, jumping, mimicking attacks or holding a position – usually a physically challenging one—for several minutes.

Asajj knew nothing of sword fighting, but she knew enough of warfare to be impressed with Ky's strength and physical condition. He might be young, short and slender but he was no weakling. He was a warrior, like her—and maybe he would be the one that would help her to avenge her parents' death.

Ky switched off his weapon and Asajj pouted, disappointed. She knew what would come next. He would go down on his knees, rest his hands on his thighs and he would close his eyes. His breath would deepen and slow, and he would remain in that position for at least two hours. He said that helped him to be centred and focused, but Asajj thought it was just a loss of time.

However, that day, Ky did not kneel, but sat by her side.

"So Asajj," he said in that strangely accented voice of his, "tell me what's in your mind? Why do you watch me every day?"

"Because I like it," she answered.

"You like when I perform the _katas_, but not when I meditate."

"It's boring, and I think it's a loss of time," Asajj answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Really? And what should I do instead?" Ky's voice had a hint of amusement.

"More _katas_."

He smiled briefly, then sobered. "Would you believe me if I told you that it is because of the centring and focus I find in my meditations that I am able to execute the more difficult _katas_, such as the one where I land upside down on only one arm? I know you especially like that one."

Asajj just shrugged her shoulders.

"I see. Well, I will need to convince you of the importance of meditation. In the meantime, let's try something else. Stand up."

Ky rose to his feet as Asajj looked up at him defiantly, "Why?"

"Because I wish for you to try my lightsabre."

Asajj's widened as she scrambled to her feet. "You will allow me to use it?"

"Yes. Just remember to do exactly what I say, all right?"

She nodded eagerly and watched intently as Ky unclipped the weapon from his belt and handed it to her. Then he moved behind her and surrounded her with his arms, using his hands to adjust her grip on the hilt.

"This is the emitter," Ky said, positioning her fingers on an oblong button. "Push it."

Asajj did as she was told and the blue blade sprang to life, humming softly. Ky took a step back and instructed, "Now try moving it."

Asajj did so and felt the blade cut the air, as a strange feeling coursed in her. It felt like a tingle…as if all her senses were more focused. Or perhaps not, because she did notice Ky had walked to stand several meters in front of her until he called her name.

"Asajj?"

Startled she looked forward and watched Ky bend down and pick up a stone. He weighted it in his hand for a moment, then his eyes narrowed.

"Defend yourself, Asajj!" he urged, throwing the stone against her.

Acting on pure instinct, moving as fast as light, Asajj whirled the lightsabre in front of her as the stone approached her. The 'sabre hummed louder for a second, and then she heard two soft thuds. There was no trace of the stone, but when she looked down, she saw two neatly cut pieces of rock at her feet—and they had not been there before.

"Good!" Ky exclaimed with a bright smile, walking toward her. "I knew you could do it. Now switch off the lightsabre. We need to talk."

Asajj did as he said and handed back the hilt, feeling a pang of regret that the experience had ended.

"How was I able to do that? The stone was so small, and yet I cut it in two perfect halves…"

Ky clipped the weapon to his belt and smiled. "It was the Force, Asajj. You are strong in it. It guided your movements."

"The Force? Was is the Force?" she asked, following the young man into their cave.

Ky sat down and patted the space at his side. Asajj obediently sat too, crossing her legs.

"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together," Ky answered her question, his voice sounding almost reverent.

"What is a Jedi?"

"The Jedi are the guardians of the Republic."

"Are they warriors?"

"Occasionally. They are mostly trained diplomats. They are guardians of peace," the reverent tone was back, and it now was also filled with longing.

Asajj frowned. She had only a vague idea of what peace could be, for her people had been at war since before she was born.

"Are you a Jedi?"

"No, but I used to be one. I was expelled after I wounded a rival during a fight."

"Oh." In Asajj's mind, wounding a rival in a duel was a good thing, but she guessed it was not so for the Jedi, at least judging from Ky's expression.

There was a long moment of silence, then Asajj gathered her courage. "Ky?"

"Yes?"

"Can you teach me to use the lightsabre? You said I'm strong in the Force."

Ky nodded. "You are indeed." A smile. "I will teach you, Asajj, but remember: the path of the Jedi isn't an easy one."

"I don't care about the Jedi! I just want to learn how to use the lightsabre, so that I will be able to exact revenge for my parents' death."

Ky shook his head and stared firmly at her, jaw set in an irremovable expression. "No, Little One. Not revenge. Justice. We will exact justice for your parents."


	3. Chapter 3

"Again Asajj. Repeat it again," Ky commanded quietly.

Asajj gritted her teeth. It was the sixth time Ky had made her repeat that exercise and her patience was stretched thin. It was not enough that Ky insisted on teaching her only open-hand _katas_—he also had to oblige her to repeat them again and again, even when she did them right.

The open-hand _katas_, as the name suggested, were executed without using the lightsabre, and Asajj considered them as useless as meditation. She just wanted to learn how to fight with the lightsabre Ky had built for her using a spare powering crystal he had carried with him-- but he refused to let her even touch the weapon until she mastered ten open-handed _katas_ and managed to meditate and listen to the Force for at least thirty minutes without huffing or shifting or fidgeting.

Asajj almost groaned in frustration. She could care less about the Force. She wanted to fight.

Cursing Ky in her mind, Asajj began the _kata_ again. She bent her knees, kicked her legs, straightened and leapt in the air…and as it had already happened twice, she completely forgot she had been exercising atop of a flat rock with a diameter of only one meter. She landed on the edge of the rock, lost her balance and fell down on her backside, a hiss of pain escaping her lips.

Ky watched her, arms crossed over his chest. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yes, of course I'm right," Asajj snarled at him. "I'm a warrior, it takes much more than a fall to break me."

"Good. Then you can resume your exercise."

"No!" she shouted at him, raising on her feet and stomping toward Ky. "I'm sick of them! They are useless, a loss of time! I don't care about listening to the Force! I don't care about finding my focus! I don't care about my balance! I want to fight!"

Ky's eyes narrowed. "Then you will never be a Jedi."

"I don't want to be one! And you too will never be one! You were expelled—maybe because you were not good enough to be one! Maybe you lied: you didn't wound anyone…you were thrown out because you cannot fight! That's why you are not teaching me! Because you can't!" Asajj screamed, venting all her frustration and anger and she had the malignant satisfaction to see Ky pale and swallow hard.

He took a couple of deep breaths, then nodded curtly. "Well, if this is what you believe, then it is best if I go away. I won't impose you my presence anymore." He turned on his heels and started walking away.

Asajj froze, as panic rose in her. Ky leaving? No! He couldn't! She had wanted to hurt him, to enrage him, to make him want to show her he could fight, and fight well…She had not expected he would walk away from her.

She ran after him and quickly caught up with the young man, blocking his path.

"Please Ky, forgive me! Don't go! I will do everything you say! I promise! I-" Asajj never completed the line, because Ky unclipped his lightsabre and looked around them with narrowed eyes.

"Return to the cave, Asajj," he said, urgency in his voice.

"What? Why?"

"I said go back. Obey me. Now!"

Although unwillingly, Asajj did as she had been told and ran toward the cave, rolling inside it just seconds before a group of warriors from Kirske's tribe jumped down from the top of the rock above her.

How had Ky known they were in danger?

The warriors opened fire against Ky with their blasters, and just as it happened the day he had arrived, the young man used his lightsabre to defend himself. However this time, he didn't limit himself to deflect the fire, but he angled his blade in a way that made the bolts hit the warriors that had shot them. And, also contrary to the previous time, Ky didn't back away from the fight. He advanced instead, causing the warriors to retreat.

It took Asajj just a moment to realize Ky was pushing them away from her. He was protecting her. But Asajj Ventress needed no protection. She braced her blaster rifle and jumped out of her shelter, firing in every direction to clear her path.

As she approached the fight, she saw that the number of warriors had decreased. Some of them were lying on the ground, nursing blaster wounds or wounded limbs. One of them even missed an arm.

"I told you to stay away!" Ky shouted at her, throwing her a disapproving glance.

"I wanted to help you! I'm not a delicate flower that needs protection! I can fight!" Asajj shouted back, shooting at the closest warrior. Then she screamed in alarm when three more warriors jumped down on them from a nearby rock.

Quick as lighting, Ky raised his left hand, moving it on the side and Asajj saw the warriors stop in midair and fly in the sky as if an invisible hand had grabbed him and throw them against a nearby rock wall.

Ky gestured again with his left hand, moving his arm as if he was pushing someone out of his way and two more warriors flew across the air, landing several meters away, unconscious.

Then he turned his attention toward the only attacker still standing, but the warrior let out a cry and turned on his heels, running away.

Asajj raised her blaster rifle and was about to pull the trigger when Ky made her lower the weapon.

"No Asajj, let him go. Let him spread the news we aren't to be mess with."

She nodded with a grin, approving his actions.

Near her, one of the wounded attackers moaned, and she pointed the blaster at him, ready to finish him. Kirske's warriors looked all alike, and may be he was one of those that had killed her parents.

Once again, Ky stopped her. "No, Asajj, there is no honour in killing a wounded man. Leave him to the will of the Force."

"But he will heal and attack us again," she protested.

"Maybe- or maybe not. Now let it be, and come with me. This place is no longer safe. We need to find another refuge."

Asajj nodded, as she trotted to keep up with Ky's longer strides.

As they passed one of the warriors Ky had thrown across the sky with his hand, Asajj asked, "How did you do that? The trick with your hand?"

"I used the Force, Asajj."

"Oh."

They walked in silence for a while, then Asajj murmured, "Could you teach me to do that? I would like to learn it."

Ky stopped and whirled to face her, blue-grey eyes darkened by emotions. "So now you think I'm good enough to teach you? Because you saw me fight and kill people?"

Asajj nodded enthusiastically. "You were great!"

Ky shook his head, his bout of irritation replaced by sadness. "I don't like to fight, Asajj. I hate doing it. There is nothing "great" in killing or maiming people. I did it only out of defence, and if I teach you, you will learn to do the same." He pointed his finger at her, staring straight into her eyes. "You will learn to meditate and to do open-hand _katas_. You will learn to listen to the Force and to release your hate and anger in it. You will learn the difference between revenge and justice and only then you will learn to fight with a lightsabre. Is that clear?"

She nodded.

"Will you be able to do that?"

"I will try."

"No. There is no try. To do or not to do."

Asajj straightened her posture and declared, "Then I will do it, Ky…Master."

The young man smiled upon being called with the title he had told her the Jedi apprentices called their mentors and Asajj smiled in return, feeling that something very important had just started—for them, and maybe for Rattatak too.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Two**

**Four Years Later**

Asajj Ventress was standing behind a column, a hand distractedly caressing the hilt of her lightsabre, as she watched the group of men gathered by the table in the centre of the room.

For the first time since before her birth, the Southern Hemisphere warlords were talking to each other in a civil way.

They were discussing the details of their alliance against Kirske and the Northern Hemisphere warlords.

Among them, the inspirer of the alliance, Ky Narec, was moving here and there, smoothing differences, exacting concessions, arranging compromises.

Asajj smiled at the way the Rattataki warlords looked at her master, with a mixture of respect, admiration and awe that would have been unthinkable only one year before.

For a long time the warlords had refused to deal with Ky and listen to his proposals of truce.

He was too young, too exotic-looking, too small for the Rattataki to take him seriously.

However, Ky and Asajj's continued victories against Kirske's raiders, the way common people called them heroes, Ky's refusal to became a warlord and attack the other tribes, had slowly changed the Rattataki leaders' mind.

A series of informal contacts had started and after months of planning, they had arrived to this day, to the signature of the treaty.

Asajj had had no great role in the preparatory talks, even though Ky had often asked for her advice.

She had given her opinion when asked but in general she had preferred to keep silent. Negotiating was Ky's forte. She preferred to act, even if she had learned to curb her instincts and impetuous emotions under her master's tutelage. For example, she had learned that survival was the first goal of any war and that there was no shame in retreating when the enemy was too strong.

Asajj almost snorted in amusement. Ky had been quite resolute in teaching that lesson, arriving to the point of dragging her away from a battlefield by the collar of her combat suit.

She smiled and returned to concentrate on what was happening in the room. The men were now sitting around the table, passing a piece of parchment from one to another. Her eyes met with Ky's and he nodded once.

The warlords were signing the treaty.

Her parents' dream was becoming reality.

A slight noise, coming from near her, attracted Asajj's attention. Making sure to remain hidden, she peeked from behind the column and looked at the cause of it.

Three Rattataki girls of about her age were hiding behind a statue and were watching as the treaty signing proceeded and each warlord made a brief declaration to emphasize the solemnity of the moment.

Asajj was about to return her concentration to Ky and the others when one of the girls said with a giggle, "Have you seen him?"

Asajj frowned. _Whom were they talking about?_

"He is so ridiculous with that hair on his head!"

The girls all giggled, then another added, "And what about his face? It's as smooth as a baby bottom! It's not manly! I bet he is one of those that like to take it up the ass!"

There was another round of giggles that ended in a chocked sound when Asajj made her presence known.

She growled at them, caressing the hilt of her lightsabre with intent. "Go away and pray I never hear you say something like that about my master again, because the next time you will lose your tongue," she hissed.

The girls nodded quickly and turned around, almost trampling other each other in their haste to go away.

Asajj watched them go and sighed. Ky would not be pleased if he knew she had threatened people for something he would consider menial, but she could not stand to let him be insulted.

Because Asajj loved Ky Narec: as her master, as her comrade-in-arms and as a man. A man she desperately wanted to love her back.

Asajj was aware Ky was not a beautiful man, no matter the standards used to judge him, but she loved him all the same.

While he had gotten broader in the shoulder and a bit taller in the past four years, he was still shorter and smaller than the average Rattataki man.

The fact that he kept his face clean shaved was also seen as a sign of weakness by many, because the lack of beard on Rattatak meant that a man had not yet gained sexual maturity or, worse, that he was interested in other males, as the girls had suggested.

To Asajj instead, Ky's clean shaved look only meant he liked to keep it that way, and she liked it too, for she loved the cleft on his chin and the dimples that appeared on his cheeks when he smiled.

She also liked Ky's blue-grey eyes, the birthmark on his right cheek and the mole on his brow, an imperfection that, paradoxically, made him look even more perfect in her eyes.

Asajj almost snorted. Her master would be so upset if he knew she considered him perfect. He was always so humble, so uncomfortable when people called him a hero. And she knew he would be even more upset had he been aware his apprentice was in love with him and longed to see him look at her with passion, instead of with his usual tenderness.

Asajj longed to see Ky look at her and finally notice she had grown up, that she no longer was the scrawny girl he had first met.

However, she doubted it would happen any time soon—if ever. Just that morning, Ky had called her "Little One" again, even if she had told him to stop doing it because she was eighteen, the age of majority, the age when many young women were already married.

Ky had just laughed after her speech, and had embraced her in a one-arm hug, pulling her against his strong body, an action that had made her heart beat faster.

"You will always be my Little One," he had then said with a smile, "even when you will have your own "little ones"."

Asajj had looked away, so he could not see the turmoil the mention of children had caused in her.

She wanted children, especially now that, with the peace treaty signed, and there was a chance to raise them in a more peaceful environment and give them a better life than the one she had had. But the only man Asajj wanted to have children with, was the one that had been walking by her side, totally unaware of her feelings.

A round of shouts and loud cheers called Asajj back to the present and a grin split her face when she saw that the warlords carrying Ky in their arms, above their heads, and they were now triumphantly marching toward the exit of the hall, as her embarrassed master begged them to put him down.

Asajj laughed aloud and after sparing a moment to think how happy her parents would be in that moment, she ran after the group of men, adding her voice to their cheers.


	5. Chapter 5

Asajj and her master were meditating in a room of their stronghold when suddenly Ky's eyes snapped open and took on a very intent look.

"I feel a disturbance in the Force," he said, answering her unspoken question.

"I feel it too," Asajj confirmed. "What do you think it is?" She felt no imminent danger in the Force, but her senses were not yet as fully developed as her master's.

"I don't know. It's quite a strange sensation, and it's quite close. I will go take a look," Ky announced, rising to his feet.

Asajj imitated him and grabbed her cape. "I'm going with you."

"No. Go to the control room and check your defensive perimeter. This sensation I feel is connected to the presence of people and I want to know how they managed to get so close to us without activating our alarms."

Asajj gritted her teeth. She didn't like it. "I've a bad feeling about this, Ky. Let me come with you. I would feel better."

"Don't centre on your anxieties, Asajj. I sense no danger in the Force, so I believe we aren't going to be attacked. There is no reason for you to tag along. Your knee has not yet recovered and climbing down the rocks wouldn't speed up the healing process."

Asajj cursed under her breath. In an attempt to impress Ky, to show him how skilled in the Force she had become, she had tried to tame and ride one of wild cassars that roamed in the nearby valley. The big, horned beast had not welcomed her weight on its back and had bucked, sending her flying in the air. She had used the Force to cushion her fall, but it had not been enough. She had broken a knee, and even with the use of a bone-knitter it would take time for the swelling and pain to disappear.

"As you wish, Master," she relented, watching as Ky walked out of the training room toward the stronghold south gate.

Limping, Asajj moved in the opposite direction, reaching the control room a few minutes later.

The man on guard saluted her sharply, "Good day, Warrior Ventress!"

"Good morning, Aidus. Is everything under control?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? My Master says some intruders have breached our defensive perimeter."

The guard rushed to push some buttons and new views of the stronghold surroundings appeared on the monitors.

"What's that?" Asajj hissed, as one of the screens showed a dark object half hidden behind a rocky pillar. "Zoom on it!"

The guard obeyed, enlarging the dark object and Asajj felt her heart skip a beat when she recognized it as a flying craft, similar to the one that had carried Ky to Rattatak, but much bigger. Starship, that's how Ky had called it.

"Put the men on alert!" she commanded, walked toward the exit. "There are strangers in our compound! But tell the men not to attack them unless Master orders you to do so!"

"Yes, Mistress!"

The alarm klaxons echoed in the stronghold as Asajj walked toward the south gate as fast as she could.

Once outdoor, she used the Force to sense where Ky's presence was and she moved toward him, lightsabre in hand.

She had just started to descend a steep slope when there was a shift in the Force and Ky's terror washed over her.

"Master!" Asajj screamed, running down the slope, gritting her teeth against the pain in her knee, so much that her jaws hurt. Ky was never afraid, so something terrible must have happened to cause the terror in him.

Overwhelmed by panic, Asajj slipped and fell, rolling down the slope, sharp rocks tearing her clothes and ripping her skin.

When she finally stopped falling, she rose to her hands and knees and watched as a group of men, all wearing brown robes and brandishing lightsabres surrounded Ky and closed in on him, until two of them managed to grab him.

Asajj tried to stand up and run to Ky's help, but her wounded knee gave out under the weight, causing her to fall again as her master was pulled and pushed toward the starship.

Asajj pushed herself up again and this time her knee bore her weight, but by the time she was able to retrieve her fallen lightsabre, Ky and his captors had disappeared inside the ship and the hatch started closing.

"NOOOO!!!" Asajj screamed, but her desperate cry was covered by the noise of the craft engines roaring to life. A moment later, the starship rose from the ground and pointed toward the sky.

"Ky! Master!" Asajj cried, hand raised in a supplicant gesture.

Crashing on her knees she howled at the sky and desperation engulfed her as she watched the starship disappear among the clouds, taking away her master, her friend, her love and her hopes for a happy future.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Three**

**12 Years Later**

Asajj Ventress, undisputed ruler of Rattatak and commander in the Confederacy of Independent Systems was standing on a terrace of her fortified citadel, looking at the sunset.

She liked the colour of the sky during that part of the day, because it made her think about blood—the blood of the many enemies that had died under her lightsabre.

What had she said when she had first appeared to the Jedi? Oh, yes: "_I'__m__ fear. I'm the queen of a blood-soaked planet and an architect of genocide. I've conquered every enemy I have ever faced—and now it is your turn."_

Architect of genocide-- yes, she had been that. She had unleashed a blood-bath on Rattatak and would gladly do it again on a larger scale, if it just would stop the ache in her heart…

As it often happened, her thoughts returned to her first master, to Ky.

After he had been kidnapped, Asajj had been overwhelmed by desperation. Her master and the love of her life had been taken from her; how could she go on without him?

Then, Osika Kirske had attacked one of her towns and Asajj's despair had turned into anger. In fury.

She had gathered an army and breaking the rules Ky had taught her – to never attack, to just defend their people – she had unleashed her rage over Kirske and his allies.

She had led her men to battle and one by one the opposing warlords had fallen beneath her blade—all but Kirske, whom she had captured and reduced to slavery. He had been languishing in her dungeons, several levels beneath her feet, for the past ten years. Sooner or later she would kill him, but for the moment she enjoyed knowing he was still alive and cursing her all the time.

Asajj had tattooed twelve stripes on her head, one for every warlord he had defeated in battle, and when the wars had finally ended, the people of Rattatak had declared her their ruler.

She had thought then that her heart would have stopped hurting so much now that she had realized Ky's dream, a pacified Rattatak, able to resurrect from the ashes of the wars and start its path of progress. But it had not been enough to fill the empty spot in her heart, she still felt something was missing.

Asajj had been looking for something other than her hate for Kirske to keep her feeling alive when another starship had landed on Rattatak.

Other strangers had arrived and, curbing her desire to have them killed on spot, she had decided to gain from them the technology to build starships and improve her planet's defences.

Those travellers had also brought news of the Republic, of its Senate and, more importantly, had given her the means to discover who Ky's kidnappers had been.

The Jedi.

She had recognized them by their clothes in a holonet transmission while one of the off-worlders showed her how to use her just installed holocom.

It had seemed clear that the Jedi, after expelling Ky from their order, had tracked him down and captured him for some reason. Asajj had dreaded to think her master might be languishing in some cell somewhere…if he had been still alive, that is.

Her rage had known no bounds at the idea. She had started thinking of how she could get her revenge against the Jedi. She had even toyed with the idea of leading her army to Coruscant, but another off-worlder, one that had labelled himself as a Dark Side follower, had convinced her it was impossible—at least for the moment.

The man had told her that somewhere in the galaxy, the Sith, the enemies of the Jedi, were getting ready to strike against them, and she could be part of it. Bur first she had to learn the ways of the Dark Side.

Asajj had known what the Dark Side was. Ky had told her that negative emotions like anger and hate could bring her to the path of the Dark, and he had always encouraged her to release her emotions into the Force. He said that giving into the Dark Side would cost her soul. But now Ky was gone, probably dead, and Asajj had already acted on her basest emotions. As for her soul, she had lost it the day her love had been kidnapped. There had been nothing to prevent her from joining the dark Force users' ranks. Thus she had done research about the Sith and trained in their combat techniques.

A few years later, the news of war between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Republic had reached her. The leader of the CIS was a former Jedi turned Sith named Dooku, and she had learned he was looking for Force sensitive allies.

Asajj had contacted Dooku, and after passing his testing, she had been accepted as one of his Dark Acolytes and made a commander of the CIS army. However the Sith had not granted her greatest desire: he had not taken her as his apprentice. Asajj desperately wanted a new master, but Dooku had set his eyes on another person, a Jedi that he hoped to turn to his cause.

To add insult to injury, it turned out that the Jedi in question, Obi-Wan Kenobi, has been an apprentice of Ky Narec's former master. More explicitly, according to Dooku, Ky Narec had been expelled from the Jedi Order to make place for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Asajj's rage at the news had been boundless and when Dooku had ordered her to kill Anakin Skywalker, Kenobi's apprentice, she had rejoiced. She had taken the new red blood lightsabres Dooku had given her and had began her quest for revenge against the Jedi in general and Kenobi in particular.

However, despite engaging Skywalker and Kenobi several times, Asajj had not been able to kill the Jedi apprentice—worst, in some occasions, she had been lucky to avoid being killed.

Her frustration and rage against the two Jedi had increased with each of her failures, because she feared Dooku would reject her if she kept on disappointing him.

And then…then Jabiim happened.

Asajj's black lips bent in a slow, satisfied smile.

A critically damaged walker, a Jedi so predictable in his compassion, an explosion, two bodies thrown in the air and landing by her feet.

Asajj had barely been able to believe her eyes when she had seen that one of the unconscious men was Kenobi.

Her first instinct had been to kill him on the spot, but she had quickly changed her mind.

She wanted Kenobi to know she would be his death. She wanted to show him she had won, and she wanted him to know—that she was better than him and that Dooku was a fool in preferring a weak Jedi like Kenobi to her.

So she had ordered her men to take Kenobi and the clone that was with him and she had quickly returned to Rattatak with her prize of war.

That had been twenty-five days before, days during which Kenobi had experienced the power of her hate.

Asajj had not communicated Kenobi's capture to Dooku. The Sith would command her to hand the prisoner to him, and she didn't want to do it…at least not yet. She had other plans for the Jedi, plans that certainly didn't involve him becoming Dooku's new apprentice.

"No Kenobi," Asajj hissed, still looking at the darkening sky. "You won't take what is mine as you did with my master. You will suffer and pay the price of all the pain the Jedi caused to my master and myself. I swear it on Ky's memory."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: The rating of this chapter is **M**, because the second part contains an adult scene that can be considered non-con. Keep it in mind before reading. You can skip it if you aren't interested, but it gives an insight about Asajj's feelings for Obi-Wan.

--------

Asajj was standing by a window in the corridor, waiting for Aidus, the chief of her guards. He had been the man sitting in the control room when the Jedi had arrived to kidnap Ky. The reason he was still alive and not dead, as he would have deserved for not having spotted the intruders sooner, was that he had been the one who had found her master's lightsabre lying between the rocks and had brought it to her. She had decided to be clement that day, and Aidus had proven a faithful servant since then.

As she waited for the man to return from the dungeons, she cleaned her vibroblade from the blood of the clone she had just interrogated.

The clone, as stubborn as his Jedi general, had refused to answer her questions, and she had inflicted him a wound every time he failed to reply. He had just continued to repeat his name and rank.

A noise of approaching steps alerted her she was no longer alone.

"Have you taken the clone back to the cell with Kenobi?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Good. Perhaps he will be less resilient once he's seen how we have brutalized his "general"," Asajj commented, putting away the vibroblade.

"If I may ask, how does the Jedi suffer now?" Aidus asked as they started walking along the corridor.

"He has resisted conventional interrogation, poisons, even the Force. But the Sith torture mask has kept him from regaining focus, and his body is weak. The muscles maggot we fed him are eating the last of his physical strength as we speak," Asajj explained, enjoying a thrill as she thought about Kenobi's suffering.

"That could kill him," the tall man at her side pointed out. "Wouldn't the Count be displeased?"

Asajj waver her hand dismissively, "The galaxy already believes that Kenobi is dead. Even Count Dooku isn't aware of the truth."

"Then why keep him alive? Let's shoot him and return to the battlefields."

Their walk had taken them in Asajj's trophy room, the place where she had collected all the prizes of wars she had taken from her dead enemies. There were several kinds of weapons, armours, pictures, statues.

And it was in front of a statue that Asajj stopped, the biggest and best lit in the room.

Ky Narec's statue.

"Dooku sees great premise in Kenobi," she explained Aidus. "In fact the Jedi could easily replace me as Dooku's confidante should he ever find the courage to join the Confederacy. But I know that Kenobi is weak and worthless. When Dooku will see him the next time, the Jedi will be a destroyed man, and the Count will finally take me as his apprentice." Asajj raised her eyes to look at Ky's larger-than-life stone face. "He will have no other choice, and I will have a new master."

Dismissing Aidus, Asajj continued to contemplate the statue. The sculptor had done a great job in recreating Ky's youthful features, so much so that sometimes she felt the desire to brush his cheek.

At the feet of the statue, resting in a velvet lined case, was Ky's lightsabre. She had carried it clipped to her belt for many years after her master's capture. It had been hanging from her hip during her battles for the conquest of Rattatak, as if its owner was still with her, fighting by her side. And then, when the wars had ended and she had the trophy room built, she had put the lightsabre to rest at the feet of the stone copy of the man that had built it.

Asajj walked toward the statue and patted a booted foot. "I miss you, Master," she murmured. "I always miss you. I know you would not be happy with me now. You were never one for revenge and rage, but I'm sorry to say I wasn't a good student, for these feelings have been the only things that made me go on. The only thing that quieted the longing inside me, if only for a while. Please forgive me, as you forgave me in the past, all those times I drove you crazy with my stunts."

Asajj gave a final look at those beloved, eternally youthful features, then her gaze hardened. It was time to pay another visit to Kenobi, she thought, her lips bending in cruel smile.

**-----**

Asajj slammed the cell door open and looked at its occupants. The clone was sitting in a corner, bound to the wall. He looked as if he was dozing, perhaps because of his recent blood loss.

Kenobi instead was standing in the centre of the cell, chained as he was to the ceiling.

"How are you doing, Jedi?" she enquired, stepping closer to him. She could see little of his face, only his eyes, because of the Sith torture mask.

"I've been better, Ventress. Thank you for asking," Kenobi quipped, and she reacted by backhanding him.

She stood in front of him and her gaze locked with his. She noticed the defiance in his eyes, eyes that were as blue-grey as Ky's. That Jedi had no right to have such beautiful eyes!

Asajj slapped him again, one, two, three times, but when their eyes met again, Kenobi's were still defiant, with no hint of humiliation or rage in them.

Asajj almost growled aloud. Time was getting short. Dooku might order her to return to the war at any moment, and she wanted Kenobi to be broken when she left. There had to be away to accomplish it!

Asajj shivered in the humid cell and an idea came to her mind. She used her vibroblade to cut Kenobi's clothes open, trying to inflict another discomfort on the Jedi. With the torture mask preventing him from regaining his focus, it was highly unlikely he would be able control his body temperature using the Force.

Kenobi's tunic and pants fell into pieces to the ground, leaving him clad only in his underwear and boots.

Asajj took a step back, watching her handiwork. Her blade had nickered the Jedi's skin in several spots, and blood was tickling from the wounds, but even so she had to admit he was good looking. In truth it was not the first time she had noticed it. She remembered when, spying on him on Ord Cestus, she had been surprised to discover she had felt lust for him.

The same lust she was feeling now as she watched his nipples harden in reaction to the cold air of the cell.

Suddenly Asajj realized that she could sate her lust…she could have the Jedi. Yes, that was a good idea. She would get what she wanted, appease the need in her blood and who knew, maybe she would even manage to break that kriffin control of his.

Asajj pressed the vibroblade at Kenobi's throat, nicking the skin, as she used the Force to free the chains from the hooks in the ceiling.

"Now back up, Kenobi," she hissed, "or I swear I will cut your throat."

The Jedi did as he was told, backing until his shoulders touched the wall. There was a low stone bench nearby, that was used as sleeping place by the prisoners left free to move, and Asajj pressed Kenobi to it.

"Sit down," she ordered, and then chained his arms to the wall, leaving not enough slack to allow him any movement. Then she walked in front of him, touching his knees with her own.

"Well Kenobi, I've to admit you are quite handsome," she said, running her hand along his lightly haired chest. "Very nice. I bet you would fetch a good price as a pleasure slave, even with these scars and that beard of yours."

Asajj slid her hand along his side, gently, slowly and a grin escaped her. He was reacting! He was more effected by her gentle touches than he had been by her tortures. Perhaps because he had not been expecting caresses or maybe because, as she had read once, Jedi were forbidden to love and intimate touches were probably unusual for them.

"Have you ever been with a woman, Kenobi?" she asked, patting his stomach with one hand as the other slipped inside his underwear. "Or have you never been enough of a man to do it? No matter, I will remedy it soon."

Asajj used her vibroblade again, and Kenobi's underwear fell apart, baring his most private parts. He looked really nice down there, his girth and length showing great promise even in its flaccid state.

She put away the blade and began to fondle him energetically, her eyes never leaving his. Kenobi stared at her, eyes determined, but she could see his eyelids flutter – almost against his will – when she stroked him in a certain way. Grateful for that bit of information, Asajj made sure to touch him only in the way he found most stimulating and was rewarded when, moment later, she had him hard and throbbing in her hand.

"Very nice," she purred into his mask-covered ear. "You are quite impressive for a man of your puny size. Perhaps you really missed your call as a pleasure slave. You would make a lot of women and men happy with this 'sword' of yours."

Kenobi stubbornly refused to reply to her taunting and Asajj lost her patience. She removed her lower clothes, baring herself to his gaze—but he continued to stare at her face, not even glancing down for a moment.

Asajj straddled his thighs, putting her bent legs on the bench, and hooking an arm around Kenobi's neck for balance, she used the other hand to guide his erection to her opening. Then she sank down, impaling herself on him.

A loud moan escaped her lips. Force! He was really big, stretching her as she hadn't been in a long time. She waited a moment to get used to his size, then she started moving. Up, down, grinding, rolling her hips, all the moves that made her feel good, that made his hardness rub against her most sensitive spots.

Very quickly Asajj's pace increased in speed and she rode Kenobi harder and harder, the tension coiling in her belly until it broke and pleasure washed over her in great waves.

When it was done, Asajj raised her head from Kenobi's shoulder—she couldn't remember putting it there—and looked at his eyes.

The pupils were so dilated that the blue irises had almost disappeared, and yet he managed to look scornful and accusing. She noticed that his ribcage was rising and falling quickly, and that he was still very, very hard inside her.

"Oh, oh," she commented, "I see you didn't enjoy yourself very much."

"I didn't know enjoyment was the point of a rape," he grounded out, voice muffled by the mask.

"Tsk-tsk-tsk, I can't leave you like this, can I? I know you would probably prefer to be left aching and unsatisfied than lose your precious Jedi control, but it wouldn't be considerate of me to leave you so," Asajj commented with amusement.

Thus she resumed her up and down movements, intent on giving him pleasure whether he wanted it or not, making sure to clench her inner muscles with every downward stroke.

Kenobi's eyes continued to be locked with hers, until the moment when he closed them and turned his face away, as he arched once and filled her with his seed. He then slumped against the wall, the chains keeping him upright, and Asajj stood up, legs shaking.

She cleaned herself with a piece of his torn uniform and dressed. Once she was ready, she loosened the Jedi's chains from the wall and pulled at them.

"Stand up Kenobi, the rest is over. Time to return to your favourite spot."

Kenobi stood up, movements slightly uncoordinated, and followed her to the middle of the room, where she chained him back to the ceiling.

"Try not to freeze to death, Jedi," Asajj said as parting line. "I enjoyed today, and I will be back for more tomorrow."


	8. Chapter 8

Hours later, Asajj was working out, unleashing her ever present rage on the training droids Dooku had given her.

"That's right," she said aloud, brandishing her two lightsabres, "surround me, just like well trained Jedi…" She leapt, freeing herself from the droids. "It makes it much easier to take your heads," she concluded, landing on the ground as the beheaded droids fell.

Asajj powered off the 'sabres and looked at the droids. _"Uhm, they still move too slowly,"_ she thought. _"Dooku's engineers will need to upgrade their programming and-"_

"Commander!! The dungeons are flooding!" Aidus' voice interrupted her, and with sick certainness, Asajj knew who had caused the flooding.

"Kenobi!!" she all but roared as she stormed out of the training room, followed closely by her guards.

They ran down to the dungeons level, where their progress was blocked by several of her prisoners, whom the Jedi must have freed to facilitate his own escape. Several prisoners fell under her blades or her guards' blaster fire, as her group turned on their heels and ran back on the upper levels.

Running with Force-enhanced speed, Asajj managed to reach the escaping Jedi – now dressed with a black robe tied by his belt—on her landing pad.

"Alpha," Kenobi was saying, "start the engines on that ship. We are getting out of here before she finds us."

"Too late!" she snarled, bursting into the landing pad, lightsabres ready to strike. "I'm surprised you're fleeing. I would have thought you would want revenge, especially after our last encounter," she said, indicating the Jedi's barely covered body.

"The first goal of any war is survival," Kenobi quipped, side stepping and avoiding her blows. "Your master should have taught you."

"All too well, Jedi," she answered, remembering with a pang the many times Ky had repeated a similar line.

Kirske jumped in front of her, brandishing his metal sword. "The Jedi might not care about revenge, Ventress, but I do!" he growled, before he threw himself against her.

Asajj just smirked. She had let him live far too long; it was time to end it. It took just a well aimed strike to sever Kirske's head and send it flying in the air.

She took only a few seconds to enjoy the scene, then Asajj turned around, just in time to block Kenobi's attack. The Jedi was holding two lightsabres, and her heart constricted when she recognized one as Ky's.

"You are a thief and a defiler! You don't deserve to wield that lightsabre," she hissed, attacking Kenobi and aiming at his left arm. Now her priority was not killing him, but making him drop her master's weapon.

Blades crossed, arms tense and shaking with the effort to hold the position, Asajj looked at Kenobi's face, now free from the Sith mask and commanded, "Hand over my master's weapon or I take your arm."

Kenobi just shook his head, almost sadly and said, "You have my pity, Ventress. You could have been a great Jedi master, one of the Order's brightest stars." He detangled himself from her attack and back flipped, landing on the outstretched ramp of her ship, which had risen from the landing pad.

Taken by the heat of the fight, Asajj had not noticed that Kenobi's clone companion had managed to slid inside the ship and start the engines.

"Your Order failed my master!" she screamed, as the vessel rose higher in the sky.

"And you fail yourself!" Kenobi answered, standing by the open hatch. "Let go of your hatred and fear! They won't bring him back." Then the Jedi disappeared inside the ship and the hatch closed.

Asajj watched powerless, tears streaking down her cheeks, as once more a ship took away what was dearest to her.

"He stole your ship?" Aidus asked when he arrived on the landing pad a few moment later.

"He stole more than that," she whispered.

A weapon, a symbol, the memories of a love she could not forget…. Her heart was now even more empty than before and she knew that no amount of hate would ever be able to be able to fill that void.


	9. Chapter 9

Asajj sat at her com-unit, replaying her spy's message for the third time.

It looked like the man had found a Jedi that was ready to leave the Order and wanted money to be able to live comfortably on some resort planet. In order to get the money, the Jedi was willing to steal Ky Narec's lightsabre from the Temple and sell it to her.

Asajj was wary of this proposal. She knew very well it could be a trap, with the Jedi trying to capture her using Ky's weapon as a bait. On the other hand, she was aware that several Jedi had broken under the strain of the war and had left their Order. It was not really surprising, since Jedi were such weak Force users. The one proposing the deal could just prove to be smarter than his peers, wanting to live a life of leisure instead that retiring in some monastery as others had done.

Asajj thought about it for a moment longer, then replied to her agent's message, telling him to contact the Jedi and offer him 100.000 credits for the lightsabre. She could go higher, if necessary, but she didn't want to play all her cards now.

Once the encrypted message was sent, she scanned the other reports she had received from her spies or the CIS intelligence.

She growled when she read that Kenobi had not yet been given another field assignment and that he was still stationed in the Jedi Temple, the only place Asajj did not feel confident enough to infiltrate. Not to mention that Dooku had explicitly ordered her to stay away from Coruscant and the Temple, for his master, Darth Sidious had a plan for the Jedi.

Asajj had chafed under the restriction, but then had felt elated when Dooku had told her she was free to kill Kenobi the next time she saw him: the Count was no longer interested in the Jedi as a potential ally and apprentice.

Since getting the news, Asajj had waiting eagerly to met Kenobi again. Since his escape the Jedi had remained inside the Temple, pretending to be a Council member, while his padawan had passed his trials and had become a knight.

"You won't be able to hide forever, Kenobi," she hissed. "One day we will meet again, and then I will get my revenge. I swear it."

**-----**

The bar was crowded by several kind of patrons, and the smoke filled air smelled of cheap tabac, spices, perfumes and the sweat of too many bodies pressed together on the small dance platform.

It was located in Coruscant's lower levels, one of those places the ruling class of the Republic didn't even know existed.

Asajj crossed the hall, her right hand resting on her lightsabre hilt beneath the black cape covering her from head to foot. Her senses were fully alert, ready for any warning that she was walking into a trap, but the Force was quiet.

She had not been happy when her agent had informed her the renegade Jedi wanted to meet her on Coruscant, but no amount of threats had convinced the man to choose another location for their meeting. He had simply commented that if she wanted Ky Narec's sabre she would have to go to Coruscant and bring with her the 200.000 credits they had agreed upon after a long negotiation.

Aidus and her other men had told her not to go, that it was probably a trap, that Dooku would be furious if he discovered she had disobeyed him, but the desire to have her master's weapon back had been strong enough to silence even her common sense. And so here she was, in the heart of the Republic, the Jedi Temple several levels above her head.

Asajj looked around from beneath her hood, studying her surroundings and looking for who her contact could be.

A blue skinned Twi'lek waitress approached her. "Are you A.V.?" she asked.

Asajj narrowed her eyes. "I could be. Why?"

"Because I have a message for you."

"Tell me."

"Your treasure is waiting for you in one of the private rooms… but only if you brought the money."

"I did," Asajj growled, showing the metallic brief case she had with her.

"Good. Follow me."

The Twi'lek led Asajj across the hall into a narrow corridor that smelled of semen and urine, and stopped in front of a closed door. "He is in here."

The waitress walked away and Asajj centred herself, stretching her senses, but once again she felt no danger. Thus reassured, she pressed the chime. The door slid open and she carefully stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit and bare but for a round table surrounded by chairs and a cabinet containing bottles of liquors and decks of cards. It was probably used for clandestine games of sabacc, guessing by the other door opening in the opposite wall…not that she was interested.

Her whole attention was focused on the figure sitting at the table, face covered by a hood pulled low on his head, and on the lightsabre hilt posed near him on the table top.

Asajj thought to call it to her with the Force and flee, but the Jedi put his hand on it, as if he had sensed her intentions.

"Sit down," he said indicating a chair in front of him, his voice metallic, probably altered by some kind of device.

She did, slowly and carefully, as if she was awaiting for the chair to explode or something like that.

"Give me your weapons," the man ordered.

"No."

"Then this encounter ends now."

The Jedi was up and halfway out of the back door before she had time to protest.

"Wait!" she growled. "Come back." She slowly unclipped her lightsabres and put them on the table, pushing them toward the man. She was taking a great risk, but she so badly wanted to have Ky's weapon back. And the Force was still quiet, with no hint of danger.

The Jedi nodded and returned to sit in front of her. He pushed a button on the table top and a ray-shield sprang to life, surrounding her lightsabres. There was no way she could call them back with the Force.

"And now Ventress, let's talk as civil people," the Jedi said, but his voice had changed to one she knew and hated-- Kenobi's.

"You!" she snarled, rising to her feet and reaching for her weapons.

-- insert evil laugh here--

Cliffie!


	10. Chapter 10

"_And now Ventress, let's talk as civil people," the Jedi said, but his voice had changed to one she knew and hated-- Kenobi's._

"_You!" she snarled, rising to her feet and reaching for her weapons._

"Sit down!" Kenobi gestured with a hand and she was pushed back on the chair, trapped on it by a Force hold.

"You Jedi scum, you kriffin thief and defiler, you-"

"Shut up, Ventress and listen to me. I bring news of your master. Your true master, not Dooku. Ky Narec."

"Liar! My master is dead and you have no right to even say his name!" Asajj struggled to free herself from the Force hold, but it was useless.

Kenobi nodded, head bobbing under his hood. "You are right. By a certain point of view, Ky Narec is dead. But by another point of view he is very much alive."

"You aren't making any sense!" she all but cried. Kenobi had said Jedi didn't believe in revenge, so why he was tormenting her like that?

"I will make sense, Asajj, but you need to listen while I talk. Can you do that?" Kenobi said softly.

"Is not that I can do much else," Asajj hissed, scornful.

"Good. I promise you won't regret listening to me. Now, please, close your eyes and give me your hand."

"What?!"

"Do as I say. I swear no harm will come to you."

Asajj struggled again with the Force restraint. "Sooner or later you will have to let me go Kenobi, and when it happens, I will tear you in pieces with my bare hands and throw them to-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I get the drift. Now, please, close your eyes and give me your hand. You have to do that if you want this." Kenobi touched Ky's hilt and made it roll on the table top.

Swallowing hard, Asajj capitulated. She closed her eyes and stretched her hand.

Kenobi turned her hand with her palm up and put something in it.

A lightsabre hilt.

"Keep your eyes shut and without closing your hand tell me what you feel in this hilt," Kenobi instructed.

Asajj wanted to open her eyes and tell him to stop whatever game he was playing, but the fear he might take back Ky's weapon stopped her.

Because the hilt in her hand was Ky's. She could sense his familiar Force presence permeating the crystals of the lightsabre. She would recognize it everywhere.

"Well?" Kenobi prodded her.

"It's my master's weapon, the one you stole from me." Her voice betrayed some of her surprise. She would have not put above the Jedi to cheat and give her a fake lightsabre.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am!" she snarled.

"Then open your eyes and look at it."

Asajj did as he had said and her eyes widened when she saw she was holding an unknown hilt.

"What weapon is this?" she barked, unsettled. How could have mistaken it for Ky's? She had been so certain…

"It's my new lightsabre, the one I built after being granted mastership and being elevated to the Council."

"You kriffin defiler! You used my master's crystals!" Asajj raged, pulling violently against her invisible restraints.

"No, I used new crystals. Here, see by yourself," Kenobi said, handing her Ky's lightsabre.

Asajj took it and closed her eyes. The feel she got was the same as before. Ky's presence permeated the crystals of the blade, she was sure of it. But how was it possible that Kenobi's presence felt the same?

"How?" she murmured, looking at Kenobi hidden face, trying vainly to catch his eyes. She hated how confused her voice sounded.

"Are you amenable to listening to me now?" the Jedi asked.

"Yes."

"I'm sure you will be interested in what I have to tell, and I ask you to not interrupt me. All right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Kenobi leant against the back of his chair, folded his arms on his chest and crossed his legs at the knee, apparently getting ready to tell her a long story. Asajj just fidgeted with impatience.

"Sixteen, almost seventeen years ago, a Jedi Padawan was assigned a mission. One that, if accomplished well, would deem him ready to face his Trials and become a knight. The Padawan's mission was to infiltrate a group of scientists that the Republic security forces thought might be terrorists. These scientists were looking for a Force user with some Jedi training, and the Jedi thought it was a perfect occasion to infiltrate them. However, since it was certain the scientists would suspect the Jedi might try infiltrate their group, it was a given they would interrogate the candidates, perhaps even violating them with mind-scans. So the Jedi masters decided to give a new identity to the Padawan. They sealed his real identity behind a special kind of mental barrier, and implanted new memories in his mind. The personality of the Padawan was not changed, but he now believed to had lived a different life. The mental barrier had been built in a way that, as soon as he would hear a certain combination of words, he would remember his real identity and task. The Padawan's master himself was already on location, working as a low-ranked security officer for the scientists, and he would say those words to his apprentice as soon as the youth had passed the tests and had been accepted into the group. Are you following me?"

Asajj nodded, almost mesmerized by the tale.

"Well, the Padawan's new identity was that of Ky Narec, a former Jedi apprentice that had just been discarded by the order for hurting a rival agemate during a duel. According to his conditioning, Ky was not resentful against the Jedi and wanted badly to prove his value in another field. The plan called for Ky Narec to travel to the outpost where the scientists were based, but something went wrong during his journey. His navi-computer malfunctioned and when he dropped out of hyperspace, he found himself in an unknown territory. He used the Force to discover where he was, but it was useless. One by one the systems of his ship collapsed until his only option of survival was to try an emergency landing on the closest planet, one he would later known was called Rattatak."

Kenobi took a brief pause. "What happened to him on Rattatak, is a story you know, so I won't repeat it. I will jump four years forward, to the day a Jedi ship landed on the planet."

Asajj nodded again, urging him to go on.

"You must know that the Padawan's master had never believed his apprentice had died during his journey as all evidence seemed to say. His ship had never reached the outpost, that was true, but there was no proof it had exploded or had been destroyed by an asteroid field. The master believed that his padawan might be stranded somewhere and, unaware of his real identity, felt no need to contact the Jedi Temple and reveal his location. So the Master accepted all the missions that allowed him to conduct searches in the quadrant where his apprentice was supposed to have disappeared. He was on board when a Jedi ship stopped by Rattatak during a pause between hyperspace jumps, and he sensed his Padawan's presence.

He managed to convince the other Jedi to land on Rattatak and his perceptions led him to Ky Narec's stronghold. You know the rest: Ky Narec went to investigate and he recognized the Jedi. Afraid they might want to punish him if they discovered he had been teaching Jedi arts without having the right to do it, he reacted in a defensive way. The Jedi called him by a name he could not recognize and approached him. I believe the Padawan's Master was trying to say the words that would restore the youth's real identity, but Ky Narec only saw men closing on him, surrounding him. He was also concerned for his apprentice's safety because, of course, he had sensed her approach. So he attacked, wanting to free himself, but he was no match for six Jedi masters. He was disarmed, subdued and pushed inside the ship. His frantic efforts to escape caused the Jedi to worry he might hurt himself, so he was injected with a sedative. The needle pressed into his neck is the last of Ky Narec's memories. When the young man woke up in the Jedi Temple Healers yard a few days later, he had regained his real identity of Jedi Padawan…and remembered nothing of his time on Rattatak."

"Nothing?" Asajj said in a small voice, distraught by the idea Ky might be alive but not remember her, when, until that last revelation, Kenobi's tale had stirred the hope she and her master might meet again.

"Nothing. Oh, he tried hard to remember what had happened to him during those four years. He meditated and read news, hoping something might spark some memory, but it was useless. Gradually, the Padawan retuned to his routine of training and studies. By now he was twenty-four and the oldest Padawan in the Temple. He wanted to become a knight and worked hard to reach his goal. He was knighted the following year after a mission in which his master was killed. He also took an apprentice, whom, in turn, was knighted a couple of months ago." He gave a long pregnant pause. "Are you ready to know the real identity of the man you knew as Ky Narec?"

"Yes, I am." Asajj braced herself.

"His name was, and is, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Asajj tried to stand up and was surprised when she was able to do it. "Liar!" she screamed, shaking her head. "It cannot be you! It's impossible! I would have been able to recognize your presence!"

"Yes, you should have been able to recognize me-- and you would have, had not your perceptions been so clouded by your hate and anger toward the Jedi. Remember, Asajj, our focus determines our reality."

Asajj shook her head, ignoring his words. "No, no, no, it's impossible. I cannot believe it."

"Yet you recognized my Force presence in those crystals as Ky Narec's. Is that not proof I am telling the truth?" Kenobi said gently.

"No…maybe you have corrupted Ky's presence…mingled it with your own to trick me..." Asajj was now pacing, distressed. She could not believe what Kenobi was saying. It had to be a trick, and a cruel one too.

Kenobi sighed loudly and stood up, approaching her. She backed away from him, until she had no more room to go.

"You think I'm tricking you, uh?" he said, head lowered and still hidden by his hood. "Your hate for the Jedi is so strong you cannot bring yourself to believe what you know in your heart to be true. Well then, if you cannot trust your heart, maybe you will trust your eyes." Thus speaking, Kenobi pushed back his hood, finally revealing his face.

The world ceased to exist around Asajj as her eyes stared at the face in front of her. Kenobi had shaven off his beard and cut his hair short and the features staring back at her were Ky Narec's. There were lines around his eyes and mouth that had not been there when she had known him, but there was no doubt that those eyes and mouth, those birthmark and mole, those nose and dimpled chin were Ky Narec's.

Obi-Wan Kenobi's.

Asajj started trembling, shaking like a leaf in the wind. "Master…" she whispered, raising a timid hand to touch the Jedi's chin.

"Yes, Little One, it's me," Obi-Wan answered, smiling gently, voice rough with emotion.

Upon hearing that beloved nickname, all of Asajj's composure broke and she burst in tears. She threw her arms around the Jedi, hiding her face in his neck. His arms rose to envelope her, and they stood like that for a long time, until Asajj regained a modicum of control.

Stepping back, but not leaving the confines of his arms, Asajj murmured. "You called me Little One. Does it mean you remember your time as Ky Narec?"

"Yes, I do."

"How?"

"Back in your citadel, Kirske told me what he knew of your life and your master, and then he showed me Ky Narec's lightsabre. As soon as I saw it, I recognized it as the first lightsabre I ever built, the one I had lost during the four years I remembered nothing of. This of course, made me very curious and determined to discover what had happed and if I really had been your master as evidences seemed to indicate. Once back at the Temple, I ran some searches and discovered no Jedi named Ky Narec had ever existed. Then I checked my files and saw that the coordinates of the planet where I had been found were Rattatak's. Armed with this knowledge, I went to visit Master Yoda. He told me that Qui-Gon, my master, had said him that while I was sedated, I talked in my sleep, calling a name and mumbling something about someone I could not leave alone. The Jedi didn't understand the name, but it started with "A". So I went to meditate on all this pieces of knowledge I had discovered and explored my memories. It was then that I realized there was a block in my mind that I had never noticed before. I pushed against and it crumbled… all the memories of my life in those four lost years returned. I remembered Rattatak, the caves, the battles…and especially, I remembered you, Little One. Do you believe me?"

Asajj nodded, tears threatening to fall again. "I—I …Dooku told me the Jedi had killed you...Ky. He told me that Qui-Gon Jinn had gotten rid of Ky in order to take you as Padawan…that he had him expelled with a false accusation…"

"Lies, all lies, Asajj, and Dooku said them fully well knowing the damage he would cause. He was Qui-Gon's former master and he was also among the Jedi that rescued me on Rattatak. He knew I was Ky Narec, and he probably found it amusing to send you to hunt me down," Obi-Wan caressed her cheek with tenderness, trying to make her relax.

"That slime devil!" Asajj's blood boiled with rage. "I will find him and I will make him suffer. I will-"

"No, Asajj. No," Obi-Wan took her by the shoulders. "Let go of your hate. Let go of your anger. They have no place in your heart. They never have. Please, do it for me if not for yourself."

Asajj stared at the blue-grey eyes she had never stopped loving and nodded. Her master, her love, was asking her to renounce her hate and she would do so. For Obi-Wan. For herself. For the future she hoped to have at his side.

She closed her eyes and for the first time in too many years, she opened herself completely to the Force, releasing her darker emotions. It was not easy to let go, after having held onto her hate for so long, but it was a start.

"Good," Obi-Wan smiled in approval.

Asajj lost herself in his beautiful eyes and wondered how it was possible she had not recognized them, not even the day she had stared at them so closely, as she rode him to his unwilling orgasm.

The memory of that day, and of all the tortures she had inflicted on him, made bile rise in her throat.

She had brutalized and raped her master, the only man she had – or would-- ever loved. How could he even stand the sight of her?

Asajj felt like throwing up, but instead she threw herself on her knees at Obi-Wan's feet, leaning forward in a low bow, hands stretched out on the floor in front of her as her forehead rested on the ground, leaving her neck bare and vulnerable.

"Please forgive me, Master," she begged. "I wronged you terribly, and I will accept whatever physical punishment you will deem fit—even death."

Asajj heard a loud sigh, followed by a rustle of robes as Obi-Wan knelt in front of her.

"Rise, Little One," he said pulling at her shoulders. "Jedi are not like the Sith. We don't enjoy to cause pain. I've no intention of punishing you, unless you still consider meditation a punishment as you used to in the past." A quick smile, then he sobered. "I forgave you long ago. I've always know you were not really evil, just misled, and now I know it was partly my fault. I should have not taken an apprentice while still being one myself. I didn't teach you well enough to control and release your emotions and-"

Asajj could not believe what she was hearing. Obi-Wan was apologizing to her?

"Shut up, Kenobi," she hissed, interrupting him. "You have no fault in this. We just had four years together and I'm aware the training of a Jedi Padawan can last up to a decade. Also, during most of those four years, we were too busy staying alive to have much time for teaching sessions. So, I don't want to hear you take the blame ever again. It was only my choice. When I first gave into my anger after your kidnapping, I knew you would have not approved it…but I did all the same."

"That's now in the past…" Obi-Wan murmured. "Is it?"

Asajj nodded eagerly. "Yes."

"Good. Now stand up, it's time to leave this place. I don't know about you, but I have enough of this smell."

They both rose to their feet and Asajj asked, "Where are we going now?" She collected her briefcase as Obi-Wan retrieved the lightsabres, hers included, from the table.

"We are going home," he simply answered, looking at her.

"Home?"

"My home, the Temple. The place where I would have taken you years ago, had I known who I really was."

"You- you want to take me to the Jedi Temple? But I- they…" Asajj stammered, unable to cope with what he had just said.

"Master Yoda knows of our meeting, and he is hoping to meet you."

"Really?"

"Really. However, since I realize we need to work again on our reciprocal trust, and I can imagine the sort of thoughts running in your head, here, take your lightsabres. You will feel safer with them."

Asajj looked at the curved hilts Obi-Wan was offering her and shook her head. "I do trust you—and I don't need them. In fact, I don't want to see them again. They are the weapons of the Sith, the Jedi's enemies, and I'm no longer one."

Obi-Wan smiled in obvious approval, dimples appearing in his cheeks and making him look younger and more like the man she had known best.

"Then my dear, take this one instead, while I get rid of these." He gave Asajj the weapon he had used as Ky Narec and then used his current lightsabre to destroy the Sith ones.

"Let's go," he said when he was done, and Asajj followed him out of the back door.


	11. Chapter 11

Asajj felt awed when they stepped out the airtaxi they had taken to climb up from the lower levels.

The Jedi Temple was in front of her, tall, solid, imposing. She had not imagined it would look so mighty—and yet her trained warrior eye noticed some vulnerabilities in the building and the apparent lack of weapon or shields. She frowned.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked, seeing her expression "Don't you like it?"

"Yes, I do, it's awe-inspiring but…well, I can imagine myself attacking it from different angles without finding resistance. It looks rather…vulnerable."

"It looks like that, but it is not. We have several defensive systems. I will them to you another time. Now we must go to meet Master Yoda."

"Do we really need to do it now?" Asajj was not thrilled by the prospect of meeting the Jedi Grand Master.

"Yes, we do. He probably already knows we are here, and he is waiting for us. Also, I need to know what we will say to the Temple resident regarding your presence among us," Obi-Wan explained.

"I bet Master Yoda will decide to lock me in your cells – you do have cells, don't you? – and throw away the access key."

"No, he won't," Obi-Wan answered. "Now come, let's not use the main gate. I don't want for the Temple grapevine to report the arrival of a stranger before we are ready to make your presence known."

He led her to a side entry and dialled a code on a keypad. Once inside, Obi-Wan used a hand on the small of her back to guide her along a series of deserted corridors and into a lift.

"Sorry I didn't let you have the time to look around, but there will be plenty of time for explorations in the next days," Obi-Wan apologized.

Asajj nodded, still wondering why the Jedi should want to allow the woman that had killed many of them to feel free to explore their Temple. Obi-Wan…she could almost understand him, for it looked like he still had some affection for her, if the use of her nickname was an indication. But the others… if she were in their place she would lock her up without a second thought.

The lift stopped and Obi-Wan led her to a closed door.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I was born ready," Asajj replied, faking a bravado she was far from feeling.

But Obi-Wan saw thought her façade. "Don't worry, everything will go well." He briefly touched her hand in reassurance, as the door slid open.

The room they stepped into was small and scarce in furniture. There were only four round, plush settees, and two of them were already taken. One by Master Yoda, the other by Master Windu, the two leaders of the Jedi Council, whom Asajj knew well, even if she had never faced them in battle—which was a good thing, since they were probably going to decide her future.

"Master Kenobi, Commander Ventress, relieved I am to see you both," Master Yoda said. "Sit down you will, things to discuss we have."

Asajj sat in front of the diminutive Jedi, while Obi-Wan sat beside Windu, whose gaze never left her, as he studied her with more than just his eyes.

Yoda was doing the same thing, and encouraged by Obi-Wan's supporting gaze, Asajj made the effort to lower her shields, letting the Jedi search her feelings.

After a few minutes Yoda nodded while Windu visibly relaxed.

"Pleased we are to see your dark feelings renounced you have, Commander. Even if far from over your journey on the Jedi Path is."

"The Jedi Path?" Asajj whispered. "What do you mean?"

"Among the Jedi, welcome to stay you are. Encouraged you are to learn and train in our ways. To complete what started was many years ago," Yoda explained, tapping the floor with his gimmer stick.

Asajj was dumbfounded. "How can you be so understanding? So forgiving?"

"It's the Jedi way," Master Windu answered. "We believe redemption is possible, as long as one isn't consumed by the Dark Side—and you are not. Otherwise, you would not be here."

She threw a look at Obi-Wan and he nodded soberly, as she realized what the dark skinned master had meant.

Not even the realization Obi-Wan and Ky Narec were the same person would have saved her from her hate and anger had she turned to the Dark Side. She wouldn't have experienced the joy that still burned in her heart at the discovery her love was still alive, because she would have been already lost. Asajj shuddered at the thought.

"Then…is Obi-Wan to be my master again?" she asked, unable to hide her hopeful tone.

"Yes, he is," Yoda answered, "but be ready. Easy your training will not be. Many things to learn you have, and many things to unlearn you must."

"Yes, Master Yoda, I know."

"Also a lonely path it might turn out to be. Trust and friendship, difficult to earn they will probably be. Too well known, your past is. Wary of you, many Jedi will be."

"I've been lonely for most of my life, Master Yoda. It doesn't scare me. As for friendship and trust, I've my Master's and it is more than enough," Asajj said with conviction, looking briefly at Obi-Wan.

Master Windu nodded. "Good. Now, Asajj Ventress, it's late and it is best if we all retire to rest. Tomorrow we will meet again, with the rest of the Council present too, and we are confident you will be able to give us information about Dooku, Sidious, the Separatists' foundries, bases, factories…anything that might be useful to stop this war and find the Sith." There was a hint of durasteel in his words, a sure sign Asajj had not yet earned his complete trust.

"I will tell you everything I know," Asajj bowed her head.

"Perfect." Windu turned to face Obi-Wan. "I believe it would be best if you host her in your quarters. You have a free room and, after all, she is your apprentice. This way you will be handy should she need anything."

_And__ you will also keep an eye on her_, Asajj completed the line.

"That's fine for me," Obi-Wan nodded.

"For me too," Asajj confirmed answering to the masters' questioning gazes.

"Then settled the matter is. Closed this meeting is. To sleep we go. Rest better all we will, I think."


	12. Chapter 12

Asajj was sitting on the couch in her and Obi-Wan's common room. She was reading the dossier about her master she had downloaded on a datapad from the Temple Archives.

Since discovering Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ky Narec were the same person, Asajj had burnt with the curiosity to know more about her master and about his life before and after his time on Rattatak. Obi-Wan had not been against it, even if he claimed there wasn't anything really interesting in his life, and had been more than willing to fill the gaps in the files with his memories.

She had been curious to read what the dossier said about Obi-Wan's four year long disappearance, but the whole episode had been condensed in a few paragraphs. Quite disappointing.

Now Asajj was reading about the Crisis Of Naboo, the last mission Obi-Wan had undertaken as Padawan, ten months after returning from Rattatak. She read about the Battle of Naboo, about his master's death and about his killing of a Sith, the first Jedi to have done it in over one thousand years. She also read how he had been knighted because of this feat, and how he had taken Anakin Skywalker as his Padawan shortly afterward. Asajj found it quite strange, and would have liked to know more, but she didn't want to bring back sad memories for Obi-Wan.

Asajj wished to never again be the cause of Obi-Wan's pain, because nobody wanted to cause pain to their loved one.

It seemed almost incredible how the hate she had harboured for the man had disappeared upon recognizing who he really was – or was it who he had been? – and replaced by her youthful love as if nothing had ever happened.

No, it was not so, something had happened. Because, thinking back to their previous encounters, now that her hate had stopped to blind her, all the times Obi-Wan had beaten her in combat, all the times he had bested her in a battle manoeuvre, increased her admiration and love for him, as much as they used to increase her anger and frustration.

Ky Narec had been a great warrior, and Obi-Wan Kenobi was an even greater one, even if their true talent was in negotiations.

Ky had been an attractive youth, Obi-Wan was a handsome, mature man—and she loved him.

Again. Still. Always.

Asajj sighed and put away the datapad. She looked out of the window, at Coruscant's heavy traffic, feeling a sense of contentment she had seldom felt in her life.

She had adapted well to Temple life, after a rough first week during which she had spent most of her time in the Council's Chambers, answering the hundred of questions the Masters had about the Separatists' forces and bases, Dooku, and especially Sidious. Some of the Council members had not believed her when she had said she had no idea who Sidious was or where he was hiding.

One of them, a Cerean Master called Ki-Adi-Mundi, had arrived at the point of threatening to hand her to the Republic justice if she refused to collaborate. Asajj had thus learned that the Chancellor and the Senate had been informed of her "defection" and that she had been trusted to the Jedi's custody. There wouldn't be any punishment for her crimes, mostly because her victims had been Jedi, but she would have to behave. If the Jedi stopped to guarantee for her, she would end up on some detection planet, without even a trial.

After the interrogations had ended, Asajj had relaxed and tried to settle in her new life. She had explored the Temple, both alone and in Obi-Wan's company and had met other Jedi, watching them interact in their every day life.

Most of the masters, knights and padawans she had met had been wary of her, but not hostile. The Council had spread the news she had rejected her dark ways and joined the Order, and the Jedi had taken it in stride, evidently confident in their leaders' judgement.

Asajj had been given Jedi clothes, a beige and tan combination similar to her master's and her training sessions had started in earnest.

Her training consisted mostly in meditation and open-hand _katas_, which she had not practiced since Ky Narec's disappearance but that she remembered quite well. She and Obi-Wan had also fought against training droids, in order to learn – or to relearn – how to work in sync.

She had even sparred against Mace Windu, mostly because Obi-Wan and the other masters wanted to see how she would react when confronted with Windu's fighting style.

The _Vapaad,_ or Seventh Form, was the most brutal of all Jedi forms of combat-- and Mace Windu was the only master in the Temple who could use it with any success, because it relied on the use of dark emotions.

It had been quite difficult to keep up against the Korun master and not react with rage when the man made references to her past dark deeds and to Obi-Wan's torture, but she had managed to keep her emotions in check.

Afterward Mace Windu had curtly nodded and said, "Well done", while Obi-Wan had smiled, pleased. It was thus she had learned she was scheduled to join Obi-Wan on the battlefield, and that the duel had been a test to see if she was ready to face combat again without letting her emotions overwhelm her.

Asajj had been thrilled by the idea of returning to combat, especially now that she was again battling for peace – as she did during her youth – and not to spread destruction. She would once again fight at her Master's side, an equal in all the ways that mattered, no longer just a little more than Dooku's assassin for hire. The only downside was she would have to fight near Anakin Skywalker, the arrogant boy that had tried to kill her several times – even if it had been her to start the hostilities between them.

Obi-Wan's former Padawan was considered to be a hot head and had quite a reputation for insubordination. Asajj had the feeling that if someone among the Jedi would complain against her admission into the Order, it was going to be Skywalker.


	13. Chapter 13

To answer my anonymous reviewer, I'm sorry you took so badly my leaving this fandom. But you see, this is not a conscious move. I mean, it wasn't planned. It simply happened. I've been watching NCIS and liking Gibbs, for five years, being a devoted watcher and reading some fiction, while I was in the Star Wars fandom, writing and reading stories, and enjoying myself. But this year, as I watched the six season on the net, something happened. An episode clicked something inside me...as I said it wasn't planned or even expected, and being the faithful person I am, I agonized when I saw my thoughts were no longer for Obi-Wan...but the "change" had already started, and I couldn't stop it. Writing for a new fandom presents new challenges, new story lines to explore, new characters...it's a new world and very exciting from a writer's POV. The SW/Obi-Wan fandom gave me a lot of joy, both as a writer and a reader, but it's over, at least for now, because I I'm a firm believer of the "never say ever" line.

The rating of this chapter is** M**. Skip the second part is you are not interested.**  
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Asajj was in the kitchen, making tea for Obi-Wan and herself. She had never been one for such mild beverages, but she was taking a liking for the brand her master used.

She smiled as she thought of how grumpy Obi-Wan was in the morning before he sipped his first mug of the day, when she heard the door of their quarters slid open.

"Master!" A masculine voice called.

Asajj froze. She knew that voice.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan answered surprised, "I wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought we would meet at the rendezvous point in two days."

"Chancellor Palpatine asked me to escort home a couple of senators, and so here I am," Skywalker said, as the couch springs creaked.

"Anakin, I told you many a time not to crash on the couch like that!" Obi-Wan chided. "It's old, but I like it and I would like to see it last several more years."

Asajj put down the tea mugs and moved silently toward the threshold, peering in the common room.

Skywalker was sprawled on the divan, arms spread atop the couch back, while Obi-Wan stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest-- but he was smiling.

"You will never change, Master!" Skywalker laughed, then he looked around the room. "So, where is he?"

Obi-Wan looked at him puzzled.

"Who?"

"Ah, maybe it is a she…Oh, please Obi-Wan, don't play dumb. You know what I mean. Your Padawan. I know you have a new Padawan."

Obi-Wan looked toward the kitchen door and meeting Asajj's eyes, he nodded slightly.

"Well, actually, Anakin, she isn't a 'new' Padawan, but an 'old' one. I began her training when I was just twenty."

"What?" Skywalker uttered, before his head turned to see what Obi-Wan was looking.

"Her!" the younger Jedi screamed, jumping off of the couch and igniting his lightsabre.

Asajj did the same even before her mind registered what she was doing.

The two of them squared off in the middle of the common room, ready to attack each other, until Obi-Wan stepped between them.

"Put away the 'sabres," he ordered, looking in turn at each of them. "Now," he hissed, when they both hesitated.

Trusting her Master to know what he was doing, Asajj reluctantly switched off her weapon and clipped it to her belt.

Obi-Wan nodded in approval, then turned toward Skywalker. "Anakin?"

Asajj saw the young man's eyes flash with rage, but then he relented and did as he had been told.

"Now," Obi-Wan said, "you will both behave as civil people and sit down. And you, Anakin, will listen to what I have to say."

They all sat, Asajj on the couch, Skywalker on a chair that he dragged as far from her as possible, and Obi-Wan on his favourite armchair.

Skywalker continued to glower at Asajj and she stared back, daring him to make the first move.

"Would you please stop that?" Obi-Wan sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The tension in this room could be cut with a vibroblade, and all this hostility is battering my shields."

Asajj and Skywalker both lowered their eyes, reining their emotions in order not to cause discomfort to their master.

"That's better. Now please, try to stay civil as I talk. Anakin, do you remember when you once asked me why I had still been a Padawan at twenty-five, sixteen years after Qui-Gon had taken me as his apprentice? Remember how you commented on the fact Jedi are usually knighted sooner?"

Skywalker nodded. "Yes, I remember, but I don't see what it had to do with her…"

"Let me finish, and you will know."

"Go on."

"I remember that I answered your question telling you I had gone missing for four years and that I had no memory of what had happened to me during that time."

Skywalker nodded, "I remember."

"Well Anakin, my memories have returned, and I now know what I did during those years. I was on Rattatak and it's there I started Asajj's training."

"What? But you were still a Padawan and she…she…" Skywalker gestured to Asajj with his mechanical hand.

"She was a Force sensitive girl in need of help. We both were…in need of help, I mean, and we gave it to each other."

Asajj then listened in silence as Obi-Wan told Skywalker about his, their life on Rattatak during those four years.

By the time the story ended, Skywalker could no longer contain himself. "Great Master! You basically unleashed a Dark Force user on the galaxy and now, undoubtedly due to your sense of guilt, you want to make things right!" he all but snarled.

"It's not my sense of guilt—I have no responsibility in my being taken away from Rattatak and leaving Asajj behind. It's my sense of duty: I started something long ago, and I'm going to finish it. Also," Obi-Wan turned to look at Asajj in that way that always made her feel appreciated, "I believe Asajj has the markings of a great Jedi."

"You've completely lost it!" Skywalker stood up and began pacing across the room as a big, dangerous felinoid. "Have you forgotten how she tortured you? Have I to remind you how many times she tried to kill us? Of all the Jedi she slaughtered?"

"Anakin, Asajj has rejected her dark ways. She walks in the light now," Obi-Wan explained patiently, as he stood up and walked by the younger man.

"Yeah, of course. Only a man like you could ever believe that of the woman that brutalized him."

"What do you mean by 'a man like you'?" Obi-Wan crossed his arms on his chest, eyes narrowing.

"That you are too tender-hearted and compassionate for your own good. But there is no place for compassion in war and certainly not for an assassin like that woman."

"Anakin, listen to me-" Obi-Wan began, only to be interrupted.

"No Master, you listen to me. She is dangerous and you are a fool if you think you can trust her. Mark my words: she will betray you, and stab you in the back when you are not expecting it—and I won't be there to save your hide another time!" Skywalker's eyes were blazing, and he had stepped into Obi-Wan's personal space during his impassioned speech.

"Anakin, you are overstepping your bounds. Please leave these quarters and return when you are ready to be more reasonable."

"I will do it with pleasure. I can't stand this murder's presence a moment more." Speaking thus, Skywalker stormed out of the door, his dark robe swirling.

Silence fell on the room as Asajj watched Obi-Wan slowly return to his armchair, shoulders slumped and head bowed.

She could feel the pain radiating from him and, to make it worse, she found herself agreeing with Skywalker's tirade, because she knew it had been dictated by the younger man's concern for Obi-Wan.

It was true, her Master was too compassionate, too ready to forgive, and even if she had benefited from these traits of his personality, she knew she could not share them. In Obi-Wan's place, she would have not forgiven herself so readily and unconditionally.

"He is right, you know," she whispered, almost to herself. "By his point of view, I could be dangerous."

"You are dangerous," Obi-Wan replied, turning his head to look at her with a strange expression. "You are very dangerous for me, but not in the way Anakin fears."

Asajj frowned. "What do you mean?"

Obi-Wan stared at her, eyes very intent. "That I like you, more than I should as a Jedi. I like you as person—and as a woman. I liked you when you were a girl, and that has not changed. I even liked you when we were enemies and I didn't remember our past together." A moment of silence, before he added softly. "That day, in the cell, you have no idea of how hard it was to resist you and not simply let go and lose myself in you."

Asajj was stunned by his revelation—stunned and thrilled.

"You felt lust for me as I did for you?"

"Yes, I did."

"And now?"

"Now…now the love of that boy who had found a new home near you has mixed with the love of a man that has been alone all his life. A Jedi who shouldn't even know what love is, and instead loves—who has loved all his life, even when he could not remember whom he loved."

Asajj felt moved to tears by Obi-Wan's worlds. She raised her hand and cupped his cheek, using her thumb to caress the beard he had let grow again in the past month, and it proved as soft as she had imagined it would be.

"Obi-Wan…you don't know how much I dreamed to hear those words as a girl. I've always loved you, even when I drove you crazy with my disobedience and my insolence. I loved you as my master, my comrade-in-arms and as a man…and now, finally, I can express it." Asajj leaned forward and closed the distance between their faces.

Their kiss was unlike any other she had before. It was tender, loving, and yet passionate. Obi-Wan parted his lips to let her in, and she happily accepted his invitation, slipping her tongue inside his mouth and exploring his flavour. When she retreated, Obi-Wan's tongue followed, and it was his turn to map the landscape of her mouth.

Heat rose quickly between them, as they kissed again and again, until they were breathless with need.

Obi-Wan looked at her, a mute question in his eyes and she nodded.

Asaaj stood up and helped Obi-Wan to rise on his feet. Together, hand in hand, hips brushing with every step, they walked toward his bedroom.

Once inside the chamber, door locked behind their backs, Asajj whirled around and all but slammed Obi-Wan against the wall.

Their kisses had awakened her passion and lust was coursing in her veins as molten lava. She had to have him—now.

Her hand ran to his utility belt, making quick work of the buckle. She threw it and the sash on a chair and pulled his tunics open, raking her fingernails along his chest and making him shudder. Oh my, but he was beautiful—and all hers.

She ran a possessive hand on his belly as her other hand fumbled with the fastening of his trousers, pulling roughly at them when they refused to loosen.

"Slow down, Asajj," Obi-Wan murmured throatily, stilling her hand. "There is no rush, darling."

Asajj frowned. No rush? All the men she had been with in the past had been in a hurry to get to the good part….

Obi-Wan kissed her again, deeply and demandingly, and she stopped wondering about his words. They both finished undressing each other, dropping their uniforms to the ground, and moved to the bed.

Obi-Wan reclined in the middle of the mattress, all pale skin flushed with want, and opened his arms in invitation. "Come here, Asajj," he murmured.

Her hurried breathing quickened even more. She knew what he wanted—and she wanted it too.

Asajj crawled on the bed and straddled his hips, taking hold of his erection and guiding it into her.

"Wait!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, rising to a sitting position. "I'm not ready."

"Not ready?! But you are leaking! How more ready you want to be?" she blurted out explicitly, as Obi-Wan grabbed her shoulders and pushed her on the side, until she was the one lying on her back.

"What-what are you doing?" she whispered as she saw him hover over her.

Asajj did not like not to be in control—not even in bed. In all her previous couplings she had been the one in charge, setting a hard and fast pace that had quickly got her and her partner of choice off. The men had been satisfied, she had been satisfied, so why would Obi-Wan want to do it differently?

She pushed at his shoulders, wanting to regain her dominant position, but he did not budge.

"Relax Asajj," Obi-Wan murmured, caressing her cheek.

No. She didn't want to relax. She wanted to fuck.

"I want…I need…" she tried to say, but he silenced her with a kiss.

"I know what you need, and I will give it to you, but first I want to make love to you. Trust me, you will like it."

Make love. Asajj had overheard people talking of it. How was it different from fucking?

"Let me love you," Obi-Wan coaxed, and won by the tenderness in his gaze, Asajj nodded.

Obi-Wan smiled and lowered his head to kiss her neck, delicately nibbling at the hollow of her throat.

Obi-Wan moved lower with his mouth, leaving a damp path on her chest as he slid toward her breasts. He stopped there and raised his head, smiling warmly at her as his hands cupped her breasts, thumbs lightly rubbing her pert nipples.

Asajj had been touched there before, men roughly fondling her as she rode them, but this was completely different. Obi-Wan's kneading made her feel warm, and pleasure spread in her, causing her to writhe beneath him.

Obi-Wan lowered his head again and took a nipple in his mouth, raking it with his teeth before soothing it with his tongue.

Asajj could no longer resist the need to cry out her pleasure, and moaned aloud. Ashamed by the sounds she made, she looked at Obi-Wan, but there was no disappointment in his eyes. In fact, he looked even more turned on than before.

"I like for you to show me you like what I do…," he murmured, as if he had read her thoughts. "Show me again…"

And Asajj did, again and again, moaning and crying out as Obi-Wan explored her body with hands, lips, tongue and teeth.

In the end, when she thought she could not resist a moment more under the onslaught of pleasure he had unleashed on her, Obi-Wan positioned himself between her spread legs and pushed inside her.

They both cried out in pleasure, and she wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him closer and raking his back with her fingernails.

A moment of stillness, then Obi-Wan started moving, a slow, gentle rhythm, so different from the hard, fast one she had set while riding all her previous partners.

Tentatively, Asajj arched her hips, tilting her body to meet his thrusts, until they both began moving in unison.

Obi-Wan too was now making noises, his groans and grunts mingling with her moans, as their pace quickened.

Obi-Wan's thrusts became harder and faster and Asajj met all of them in kind, spurring him to increase their rhythm even more.

A pleasure as she had never felt before spread in her body. Tension coiled in her belly, as her toes curled and her back arched.

Another hard thrust and Asajj came, white light exploding behind her close eyelids as her body convulsed.

Her scream of pleasure echoed in the bedroom, soon joined by Obi-Wan's own triumphant cry as he too reached his climax.

Several moments later, when she regained her wits, Asajj found Obi-Wan lying beside her, head supported by his bent elbow.

"It wasn't too bad, was it?" he asked with a smile.

"No, it wasn't bad at all." A pause as Asajj collected her thoughts. "I had never allowed a man to have so much power over me. Never trusted them enough to let them be in charge…"

"I know," Obi-Wan murmured, kissing her brow. "I'm honoured you let me do this. Allowed me to make love to you."

Asajj smiled contentedly, raising a finger to caress his lips. "Making love, I like how it sounds—and I like how it felt too."

Obi-Wan grinned. "Good…and, darling, you must know I'm not adverse to letting you make love to me."

"Really?" Asajj could not stop the thrill she felt at the thought of being in charge of Obi-Wan's pleasure.

"Really." His eyes darkened, as he reclined on the mattress and threw back his head, baring his throat in the age-old gesture of surrender.

Asajj swallowed hard and rolled atop of Obi-Wan, hands mapping his chest as she wondered what to do first. She wanted him to feel as good as he had made her feel.

Then Asajj lowered her head and began to make love to her one and only lover.


	14. Chapter 14

**Part Four**

**1 Year Later**

Asajj Ventress observed with worried eyes the Coruscant sky. Above her head, in the planet orbit, Republican and Separatist warships were still fighting, as the occasional coloured flashes of ion cannon fire indicated.

She watched around from the control centre near the Senate. The land invasion of Coruscant by the Separatists' droid army had been blocked, but not before it had caused incalculable damages, to both people and things.

Galactic City was burning in several areas and half destroyed buildings stood where only hours before towers and skyscrapers had been. Medical ships and fireships crossed the sky incessantly, trying to save as many people as possible and to stop the fires from spreading.

"Incoming message!" her communication officer exclaimed. "An orbital outpost reports a ship has just entered Coruscant's atmosphere, and it's coming in too fast, losing pieces from the hull."

"Quick! We need to track its trajectory to see where it's directed," Asajj ordered and the clones busied themselves with calculations, until one cried, "Look at that!"

Raising her eyes, Asajj saw the ship coming down, its hull surrounded by flames. It didn't even look like a warship…but just a part of it.

"I caught their transmission!" The communication officer interjected. "It's General Kenobi! His code verifies, Skywalker is with him—and they have Chancellor Palpatine!"

"Understood," Asajj feigning a calm she was far from feeling. Obi-Wan was on that thing! But, at least, Skywalker was with him…

Despite her dislike for Anakin Skywalker, the fact the young Jedi was on board that ship made her hope that things might turn out for the best. If there was someone able to land that bulk of flaming, shapeless metal, that one was Skywalker.

"Report it to Head Quarters," she ordered to the communication officer.

"Yes, Commander! Head Quarters? This is Control Centre 2B-1A. We have an incoming transmission. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker and Chancellor Palpatine have just entered into the atmosphere. Their ship is damaged and they require assistance."

"What they need, tell us," Master Yoda's voice answered. "Contact them directly, we cannot."

"They need fireships," the clone answered promptly. "If they don't get the burnoff under control, there won't be enough hull left to make the surface. And a hardened docking platform, the strongest available. This won't be a landing, it will be a controlled crash. Repeat: a con­trolled crash."

"Heard and understood this is," Master Yoda acknowledged, as Asajj ran out of the Control Centre to board a gunship. As the clone talked, the Force had indicated to her the perfect landing place for the burning ship, and she simply knew it was where Yoda would direct Skywalker.

She commanded the pilot to direct to the industrial area of Coruscant, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on the contorted, burned hull, still coming down too fast across Coruscant sky, until it disappeared beyond a group of tall skyscrapers.

"Please be all right, Obi-Wan," Asajj murmured under breath. She didn't even want to think what she would do should he die in the crash.

She didn't need to.

Asajj already knew what she would do; she would kill herself in order to be with Obi-Wan again in the Force.

She knew herself well enough to be aware that, should she survive him, her rage and desire of revenge against those responsible for his death would take hold of her. Her darker side had been tamed, controlled, but not conquered.

Her Jedi training had not progressed much during the past year. She had learned how to control herself in battle and little else. Spending months fighting in the Outer Rim -- trying to stay alive to fight another day, negotiating treaties, building outposts and the like -- let little time for teaching sessions.

Yet, despite everything, the previous year had been one of the happiest periods of Asajj's life, for she had been doing something she could be proud of, and she had been doing it at Obi-Wan's side.

During the days, they had fought together. During the nights, they had made love and found a little peace in each other's arms.

The only thorn in her happiness – aside from Dooku's continued existence – had been her relationship, or lack of, with Anakin Skywalker.

Asajj had made an effort to get along with the young Jedi, but Skywalker's continued hostility and his jealousy regarding her master/padawan relationship with Obi-Wan, had made it impossible to become more than two colleagues that barely spoke to each other.

The gunship finally came in sight of Coruscant's vast industrial area, and Asajj let out a relieved breath when she saw the ship – or what was left of it – was still in one piece.

By the time they landed, Obi-Wan, Chancellor Palpatine and Skywalker had exited the still smoking hull and were now welcomed by Mace Windu.

Asajj took a moment to bask in the sight of the man she loved. She had not seen him in the flesh for the past two months, since she had been critically wounded on Boz Pity and she had been sent to the Jedi Temple to recover.

Boz Pity had been one of the worst episodes of the whole war. Almost the entire Jedi Council had travelled there, along with other knights, in order to capture Grievous and Dooku, and they had failed. Several Jedi had been killed, including Master Adi Gallia, and many more had been wounded, while their enemies escaped. Asajj felt blessed she was still alive and on her feet, while so many others had died or had been permanently maimed.

Asajj observed the scene as she walked closer to the group of Jedi.

Chancellor Palpatine's robes were scorched and tattered at the hem, and he seemed weak; he leaned a bit on Skywalker's shoulder as they moved away from the ship.

Asajj knew that Obi-Wan didn't like the relationship between his former Padawan and the politician, but it was now too late to do something about it. Skywalker was a Knight and Obi-Wan could no longer order him around. It would take a Council order to stop Skywalker from seeing the Chancellor, and even so it was unlikely it would work out, for Palpatine could still request to see the young Jedi.

Asajj studied Skywalker. She sensed something different in him, but she could not explain what it was. Some new ease, new con­fidence. An aura of inner power, maybe.

Shrugging the sensation off, Asajj stood by Mace Windu's gunship and waited for the moment she would be free to greet Obi-Wan.

"Chancellor," Windu was saying. "Are you well? Do you need medical attention?"

"There is no need, Master Windu, I feel fine." Palpatine answered. "Thank you."

Windu nodded. "Master Kenobi? Anakin?"

"Never better," Skywalker replied, looking as if he meant it, while Obi-Wan touched his head and winced.

"Only a bump on the head. That field surgery unit I see over there must be needed elsewhere."

It was then that Obi-Wan's eyes posed on Asajj, and they flashed briefly with pleasure and love.

_Later,_ they seemed to say, before they returned to concentrate on Master Windu.

"Chancellor, there is a shuttle ready for you. We'll have you on the Senate floor within the hour," the Korun master was saying. "The Holonet has already been no­tified that you will want to make a statement."

"I will certainly do so," answered Palpatine. "Thank you, Master Windu. You have always been of great value to me."

"The Jedi are honoured to serve the Senate, sir," Windu answered and even from that distance, Asajj could not miss the slight emphasis he put on the word _Senate_. As she had learned during her stay on Coruscant, while she had served at Windu's command, the dark skinned master had no great sympathy for the Chancellor.

"Is there anything else to report, Master Kenobi? What of Dooku and General Grievous?" Windu asked.

"Count Dooku is dead," Skywalker commented, with just a hint of smugness.

"Dead?" Master Windu looked from Anakin to Obi-Wan and back again. "Is this true? You killed Count Dooku?"

"My young friend is too modest; he killed Count Dooku." Smiling, Obi-Wan touched his head. "I was...tak­ing a nap."

Asajj stared ahead. Dooku was dead. The man that had lied to her, that had directed her hate against Obi-Was fully knowing he had been her master, was gone. It was wonderful news, even if she had hoped to be the one to kill him.

"This is the best news I've heard in a very long time, Anakin—how did you do it?" Windu asked, recalling her attention.

Skywalker reacted strangely to the question. He looked distinctly uncomfort­able and instead of meeting Windu's eyes, his gaze flicked to Palpatine.

Asajj frowned. That was going on? Somehow she didn't think this was modesty. Skywalker's ego was big, and Palpatine's continuous praises, had made it even bigger.

No, there was something out of place in the situation, but the Force gave no hints about what it could be.

Apparently, Master Windu too had sensed something amiss, for he commented in a meaningful tone, "I'm sure the Council will be very interested in your full report, Anakin."

_That's a report I would love to read,_ Asajj thought. Then a smile bent her lips. _Maybe I will find a way to convince Obi-Wan to show it to me…_

"We must also report that Grievous escaped," Obi-Wan said ruefully. "He was a coward as usual."

Windu accepted this news with a nod. "But he is just a mili­tary commander. Without Dooku to hold the coalition together, the Separatists will splinter, and they know it." He looked straight into the Supreme Chancellor's eyes. "This is our best chance to pursue peace. We can end this war right now."

"I'm afraid peace is out of the question while Grievous is at large," Palpatine answered. "Dooku was the only one able to control Grievous. With the Count gone, the general is free to unleash a rampage across the galaxy. I'm afraid that, far from being over, this war is about to get a great deal worse."

"What about Darth Sidious?" Obi-Wan interjected. "Dooku's death should oblige him to make some move. He is without an apprentice now."

"We will make sure he won't find another," Windu said pointedly, clearly indicating he didn't want to discuss the matter in front of Palpatine. "In the meantime, the Jedi will make the capture of General Grievous our particular task. This war has gone on far too long already. We will find him, and this war will end."

"I have no doubt of it," Palpatine agreed, as the four men moved toward the shuttle that would bring them to the Senate Building and the Jedi Temple.

As they passed by the gunship, Obi-Wan motioned with his hand, a Master beckoning his Padawan to join him. Asajj fell in step at his side, as they exchanged just a brief smile.

There would be more time later for a warmer and more intimate welcome.

Asajj couldn't wait for it.


	15. Chapter 15

Night had fallen on Coruscant, even if the darkness was broken by the fires that still burned in many areas of Galactic City, and the flashing lights of the rescue squad ships.

Asajj was in bed, softly caressing Obi-Wan's hair as he slept at her side.

They had made love but then, while her lover had quickly slumbered, Asajj had remained awake, still too worked up by the events of the day.

The droid attack, the battles, her worry for Obi-Wan when she had learn he was going to lead the squad that would try to free Chancellor Palpatine…her adrenaline levels were still too high to allow her to rest, no matter how tired she was.

So she continued to stroke Obi-Wan's hair, enjoying the feel of his silky strands slipping between her fingers. She especially liked the grey patches near his temples, they gave him a distinguished air.

Obi-Wan used to say it was his worry for Skywalker that had made him go grey, but she was aware there had not been any grey streaks in his hair before she had captured and tortured him with the Sith mask.

Sighing, Asajj kissed Obi-Wan's temple. "I promise you, love. I won't ever hurt you again," she whispered.

Her eyes moved again to look out the window, to the still burning fires. The reddish sky made her think of Rattatak, but also of the colour of Master Yoda's private meditation room. The room where Obi-Wan, Master Windu and herself had retreat after their return to the Temple.

Their meeting had regarded the relationship between Skywalker and Palpatine, and Darth Sidious' possible identity. In truth Asajj had not expected to be included, and had been surprised when Master Windu had motioned her to join them.

The briefing had started with Obi-Wan's account of what had happened during the Chancellor's rescue, but due to his injury and momentary unconsciousness he could not tell them what had exactly happened between Skywalker and Dooku, nor if the Chancellor had played some role in the matter.

When Obi-Wan had finished his report, Master Windu had shaken his head. "I don't like it."

"What?"

"Anakin's relationship with Palpatine. There is something between them. Something new. I could see it in the Force. It felt pow­erful. And very dangerous," the Korun master had explained.

"I felt it too," Asajj had interjected, not wishing to cause pain to Obi-Wan but knowing it was her duty to say it.

Obi-Wan had spread his hands, looking at her and Windu in turn, "I trust Anakin with my life."

"Know it we do," Master Yoda had answered, "But unsure it is, if trust Young Skywalker's life to the Chancellor we can."

"Yes," Obi-Wan had said, frowning. "Palpatine's policies are...sometimes questionable. And I don't approve how the Chancellor is always quick to downplay the Jedi's role in successful missions, while he is very critical with the Order when something goes wrong. I also don't approve all the praises he publicly bestows on Anakin, but is there really something wrong in all of this?"

There had been a moment of silence, before Mace Windu had begun to talk.

"The reason of our concern is that we have evidence that traces Sidious to Palpatine's inner circle."

"Are you cer­tain?" Obi-Wan's eyes had widened.

Windu had shaken his head, "Nothing is certain. But this raid—the capture of Palpatine has to have been an inside job. And the timing-- we were closing in on him, Obi-Wan! Padawan Ventress can confirm it. We had traced Sidious to an aban­doned factory in The Works. When the attack began, we were tracking him through the lower levels tunnels. He led us to the sub-basement of Five Hundred Republica."

Asajj had leaned soon after her arrival on Coruscant that Five Hundred Republica was the most exclusive address on the planet. Its inhabitants included only the incredibly wealthy or the incredibly powerful, Palpatine included.

"We have to face the possibility—the probability—that what Dooku told you on Geonosis was actually true. That the Chancellor – and thus the Senate-- is under the influence of Darth Sidious."

"Do you—" Obi-Wan had swallowed before he could go on. "Do you have any suspects?"

"Too many. All we know of Sidious is what Padawan Ventress told us, that he's bipedal, of roughly human conformation and uncertain age. There is no way to narrow the circle with only this information."

"I regret I could not tell you more about him, Masters," Asajj had interjected, bowing her head. "I have never seen him in the flesh, only via hologram, and he always kept his hood up. I could perhaps recognize his voice, if I heard it, but I am not sure."

"Worry you do not, Young Ventress. Your fault it is not. Find him in another way, we will."

"We could run some interrogations," Obi-Wan suggested.

Mace had shaken his head. "Interrogate the Supreme Chancel­lor's personal aides and advisors? Impossible."

"But—"

"Palpatine will never allow it. Though he hasn't said so..." Mace had stared out the window. "... I'm not sure he even believes the Sith exist."

Obi-Wan had blinked. "But—how can he—"

"Look at it from his point of view: the only real evidence we have is Dooku's word. And he's dead now."

"The Sith Lord on Naboo—the Zabrak who killed Qui-Gon—"

Mace shrugged. "Destroyed. As you know."

"But Asajj confirmed to us that Darth Sidious exists!" Obi-Wan exclaimed. "She has seen him!"

"Do you really believe the Chancellor cares about what – forgive me, Padawan Ventress– a former Separatist assassin says?"

"But he doesn't have the authority to interfere with a Jedi in­vestigation..." Obi-Wan had frowned, uncertain. "Does he?"

"The Senate has surrendered so much power, it's hard to say where his authority stops."

"It's that bad?"

"Very bad," Master Yoda had interjected, after he had listened in silence to the younger Masters' discussion. "Just today, the draft of a new Senate's amendment we got. If voted, the control of the Jedi Order to the Chancellor will pass."

"What?!" Asajj was not able to contain her shock, which was as strong as Obi-Wan's.

"You heard it correctly," Mace Windu had confirmed grimly.

"The Chancellor's goal in this—unclear to me it is," Yoda had said slowly. "Though nominally in command of the Council, the Senate may place him, the Jedi he cannot control. Moral, our au­thority has always been; much more than merely legal. Simply follow orders, Jedi do not!"

"I don't think he intends to control the Jedi," Windu had commented, "By placing the Jedi Council under the control of the Office of the Supreme Chancellor, this amendment will give him the con­stitutional authority to disband the Order itself."

"Surely you cannot believe this is his intention!" Obi-Wan had exclaimed.

"His intention?" Mace had replied darkly. "Perhaps not. But his in­tentions are irrelevant; all that matters now is the intent of the Sith Lord who has our government in his grip. And the Jedi Order may be all that stands between him and galactic domina­tion. What do you think he will do?"

"So, what do you propose we do? What we go against Palpatine? It would be considered treason," Obi-Wan had commented.

Mace Windu had sighed, and for a moment his strong shoulders had sagged, as if he had been weighed down by a too great burden—and perhaps he had been, given what was in stake. "I don't know. I'm afraid that if we commit some rash action, such as the one you mentioned, it will retort against us."

"Masters," Asajj said, "Dooku once told me that Sidious 'had a plan for the Jedi', but he never explained what it was. So I think we need to move before he puts this plan of his in act…"

"Yes, but how?"

Obi-Wan had cleared his voice, recalling everyone's attention. "I believe that Palpatine himself has given us a possible opening. He has said—both to you, Master Windu, and in the Holonet address he gave following his rescue—that General Grievous is the true obstacle to peace.

Let's put every available Jedi and all of our agents—the whole of Republic Intelligence, if we can—to work on locating Grievous himself. This will force the hand of the Sith Lord; he will know that Grievous cannot elude our full efforts for long, once we devote ourselves exclusively to his cap­ture. It will draw Sidious out; he will have to make some sort of move, if he wishes the war to continue."

"If?" Mace had almost sputtered, "The war has been a Sith operation from the beginning, with Dooku on one side and Sidious on the other— it has always been a plot aimed at us. At the Jedi. To bleed us dry of our youngest and best. To make us into something we were never intended to be."

Asajj had bowed her head in shame, full of shame. She had lost the count of the Jedi she had killed in her misdirected quest for revenge.

Windu had continued bitterly. "I had the truth in my hands years ago—back on Haruun Kal, in the first months of the war. I had it, but I did not understand how right I was."

"Seen glimpses of this truth, we all have," Yoda had interjected sadly. "Our arrogance it is, which has stopped us from fully opening our eyes."

"Until now," Obi-Wan had put in gently, bringing the meeting to a conclusion. "We understand now the goal of the Sith Lord, we know his tactics, and we know where to look for him. His actions will reveal him. He cannot es­cape us. He will not escape us."

Asajj returned to the present when her caressing hand was stilled by Obi-Wan whispering her name.

"I'm sorry," Asajj murmured, lowering her eyes and finding him awake, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Why? It's a nice way to wake up," Obi-Wan answered, sleepily.

"In the mornings, not in the middle of the night. Now, go back to sleep," she urged him. "You need to rest."

"You need that too. Come here."

Obi-Wan rolled onto his back and guided Asajj to lay her head on his chest with his hands.

"Now sleep," he whispered…and Asajj did, lulled to slumber by the comforting sound of his heartbeat and by the Force suggestion he had given her.


	16. Chapter 16

Asajj followed Obi-Wan's Force signature to the Room Of The Thousand Fountains.

She was not surprised to find him there. He told her it was his favourite place to meditate when he was troubled, and there was no doubt her master was very troubled at that moment.

Asajj wondered if it was because of Skywalker. She felt there was something wrong in the young man, but she couldn't say what it was.

The previous morning, as she was walking to the tactical room to listen to a report on the Outer Rims sieges, Asajj had seen Skywalker standing by the door of Master Yoda's chambers. He had evidently been waiting to be admitted inside, and he had been so lost in thought he had not noticed her walking by, and given her his usual scowl.

Asajj knew that the Jedi used to consult with Master Yoda when they needed his counsel on matters pertaining to the mystery of the Force and, curious, she had stretched her senses to guess what Skywalker wanted help or advice for.

Fear. That was what Asajj had sensed in the young Jedi. Skywalker was afraid of something. It was nothing new, really. The press liked to call him "The Hero With No Fear", but Asajj knew he was far from fearless. Not that she begrudged him that. She too was afraid, not to die, but to lose Obi-Wan and the life they had together.

Asajj stepped inside the Room Of The Thousand Fountains and once again was awed by the beauty of the place. She had never seen so much vegetation and water in a single place in her whole life. Well, that's wasn't true. Yavin Four was completely covered by a jungle, but back then she had been too focused on killing Skywalker to admire the landscape.

Now, instead, she had both the time and the desire to let her eyes roam and admire the lush vegetation around her, and she relished in that experience.

The whole place hummed with the Living Force, and the sound of dripping fountains and splashing pools was soothing. It wasn't a surprise how many Jedi thought it to be relaxing—and Force only knew how badly they needed to relax now and then, in order not to break under the strains of the war.

Asajj found Obi-Wan kneeling by what she knew was his favourite pool, so close to the edge that the vaporized drops of a nearby waterfall reached him.

He was not meditating and he raised his head to look at her as he sensed her approach. He patted the grass by his side, and Asajj lost no time in kneeling there.

Being so close, she could see as well as sense Obi-Wan's inner turmoil. His features and posture were tense and his eyes were clouded.

Asajj longed to pull him into a comforting embrace, but she could not do it in a public place.

Attachment was forbidden to the Jedi, for it could lead to jealousy, fear and other negative emotions. Asajj thought the Jedi Code was both right and wrong. It was true that attachment could lead to dark emotions—in a way she was a perfect example of it. But it was also true that love could bring out the best from a person—and she was a prime example of this, too.

"How has your day been?" Asajj asked. She had not seen Obi-Wan since going to bed the previous night. He had been already gone when she had awoken that morning.

"A complete disaster. Not only was there almost a fight inside the Council Chamber, but I might have forever damaged my friendship with Anakin," Obi-Wan closed his eyes as his shoulders slumped.

"What happen?" Asajj encouraged him to talk, because she needed to know the details in order, hopefully, to help Obi-Wan.

"Do you remember that yesterday I told you Palpatine had requested Anakin's presence without explaining why to the Council?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, it turned out the Chancellor has decided to appoint Anakin as his personal representative in the Jedi Council."

"What?! He has no right to do something like that!" Asajj exclaimed, stunned by the politician's move. What was he – or the Sith hiding in his entourage – planning?

"That was exactly our first reaction as Anakin informed us," Obi-Wan commented, "and I would have been happy if we had stuck with it. Instead someone said that Palpatine had offered us the chance to learn more about his dealings, and proposed we granted the Chancellor's request. From that moment, it went all downhill, at least for me." Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

"Why? How?"

"Asajj, the only reason the Council approved Anakin's appointment was they want him to spy on Palpatine and report any suspicious activity. I didn't agree with that plan, but I was outvoted."

"Why didn't you agree? Isn't it a good opportunity to infiltrate the Chancellor's inner circle and discover who the Sith is?" Asajj thought it was a good plan and could not understand why Obi-Wan had opposed it.

"It's indeed a good opportunity, but Anakin was not the right person to ask to do it. Just like you, he is fiercely loyal to people, not ideals. He also wears his emotions on his sleeve. How could we ask him to spy on a friend?"

Asajj nodded slowly. Now she could see Obi-Wan's point. She might not like Skywalker, but she knew he was very loyal and sincere in his emotions, good or bad they might be.

"What happened next?"

Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin was summoned in front of the Council and he was told that, while we would grant him a seat, he wouldn't have the right to vote and, more importantly, he wouldn't be granted the rank of master."

"Well, it seems fair to me. He is far too young and has not enough experience to be a master."

"Indeed," Obi-Wan nodded, "but Anakin didn't think the same. He protested loudly, calling our decision outrageous and generally showing how right we were in not elevating him to mastership. But the worst had yet to come…" Obi-Wan rubbed his tired face and Asajj fought again the desire to hug him or at least rub his back in soothing circles.

"What was it?"

Obi-Wan smiled humourlessly. "Who do you think was chosen to reveal Anakin the real reason for granting the Chancellor's request?"

"You?"

"Of course. They wanted a friend to tell Anakin he had to spy on another of his friends. How considerate, uh?" Obi-Wan's voice was full of sarcasm, in a rare show of disagreement with the Council's decisions—which meant things had gone very badly, for Obi-Wan was always respectful of his colleagues' opinions, even when he didn't agree with them.

"As you can imagine, Anakin didn't take it well at all. He was very upset, even angry with me, even if I explained to him I had been against this plan. I…am afraid he will not trust me or the Council any longer." Obi-Wan bowed his head and finding a pebble in the grass, took it and threw it in the water with an irritated move. "And to make all of this worse, as if it wasn't enough, on the gunship that was taking Master Yoda to the cruiser headed to Kashyyyk, Mace came out saying that it's very dangerous to put Anakin and Palpatine together, that he doesn't think the Anakin can handle it and that he doesn't trust him. So you see, while I was there wondering if I had just ruined the relationship with my best friend by doing something Mace wanted me to do, he said he isn't sure it was a good idea!"

Asajj could not resist any longer. After darting a quick glance around, she surrounded Obi-Wan's back with one arm and pulled him against her. The fact he did not resist, showed Asajj how strong Obi-Wan's inner turmoil was.

She put her chin over his head and murmured soothingly. "Try to relax. I believe you might be magnifying things. "Anakin," she made an effort to call the young Jedi by his name, "knows you are his friend. Once he calms down and thinks of the matter, he will realize you were on his side and never wanted to put him in such position. He will forgive you and, if I know him well, and I believe I do, he will come to apologize for his outburst."

Obi-Wan raised a hand and posed it over hers, intertwining their fingers.

"I really hope you are right, Asajj. This war is destroying so many things; I don't want for my friendship with Anakin to be one of them. He is my brother, and I love him dearly."

"I know, Obi-Wan, and I'm sure Anakin does too," Asajj murmured, kissing the top of Obi-Wan's hair while she hoped everything she had just said would prove to be true.


	17. Chapter 17

In the holocomm centre within the heart of the Temple, Asajj waited along Mace Windu and other Jedi for news from Obi-Wan.

A couple of hours before, Clone Commander Cody had reported that Obi-Wan had found and engaged General Grievous on the planet Utapau and now the assembled Jedi, present in the room both physically and via hologram, were waiting to know how the attack had gone.

Asajj had not been pleased at all when her Master had been sent – alone – to chase General Grievous on Utapau. It had been one of the few times she and Skywalker had agreed on something.

General Grievous had been trained in lightsabre combat by Dooku, and in the past year he had managed to kill many Jedi – including Master Gallia on Boz Pity. It was reported he enjoyed collecting his victims' lightsabres as trophies.

Asajj had not wanted for Obi-Wan to face that monster alone, but he had been resolute in not wanting her with him. He had said her wounds were not yet perfectly healed and that he would be worried for her safety should she go with him.

"Not very Jedi-like," Obi-Wan had commented ruefully. "But this is how I feel. Stay here, be safe—and let me do my job."

Asajj had known that protesting would only lead to them parting on bad terms, for Obi-Wan wouldn't change his mind, and thus she had capitulated. She didn't want to risk that – should the unthinkable happen, should Obi-Wan be killed – their last memory of each other would be one of shouts and angry words.

And, apparently, Skywalker had thought the same. Asajj had overheard the young Jedi apologize for his behaviour during the previous days.

He and Obi-Wan had been waiting for the clones to ready the transport that would take the Jedi Master to Utapau, and Asajj had heard Skywalker say he had dis­appointed Obi-Wan. That he have been arrogant and not appreciative of his training and of his friendship.

The young Jedi had then apologized and, of course, Obi-Wan had accepted it. He had answered that Skywalker was wise and strong and that he was very proud of him.

Asajj had smiled at the exchange, because she knew Obi-Wan would now travel to Utapau feeling relieved the situation between he and Skywalker had been resolved.

However, Asajj's smile had disappeared shortly after, when she had heard Obi-Wan salute Skywalker with a "Good-bye, old friend. May the Force be with you."

The Force had shrieked in alarm at that moment. There had been a sense of finality in those lines, as if that had really been a good-bye…the last time Obi-Wan and Skywalker would meet.

But what had it meant? That Obi-Wan was going to be killed? That Skywalker was going to die? Asajj truly hoped it would be the second hypothesis, as uncharitable it might sound. To quote Obi-Wan, it was not very Jedi-like, but that was how she felt.

The beeping of an incoming transmission echoed in the room, almost startling her.

The life-size holographic images of Commander Cody appeared, and she held her breath.

"Master Windu, Master Kenobi told me to report General Grievous is dead. We are currently fighting to take control of Utapau and to get rid of the droid army stationed here."

Asajj almost thanked the Force aloud. Obi-Wan had done it, and soon he would be back at her side.

"Thank you, Commander. Please keep us updated on the situation."

"Of course, Sir. Cody out."

Mace Windu switched off the holocom, looking very calm, but Asajj felt it was just a façade. She knew what the death of Grievous meant for the Jedi and the outcome of their war with the Sith.

Windu looked at the holographic images of Ki-Adi-Mundi and Yoda. The three masters exchanged meaningful glances, and Asajj could feel the sense of anticipation had animated all of them, she included.

"The time to act has come," Windu said. "I will personally deliver the news of Grievous' death. It will be up to the Chancellor to cede his emergency powers back over to the Senate."

"Forget not the existence of Sidious. Anticipate your action, he may. Masters will be necessary, if the Lord of the Sith you must face," Yoda cautioned.

"I have already chosen four of our best. Master Tiin, Master Kolar, and Master Fisto are all here, in the Temple. They are just waiting for my signal."

"What about Skywalker?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked. "He is the Chosen One—would not be best to take him along too?"

"Too much of a risk," Mace replied. "I'm the fourth."

"Then go, my friend. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Masters."

**---**

A few moments later, in the Temple hangar, Asajj watched as the four Jedi masters prepared to board the gunship that would take them to the Chancellor's office.

She had followed Windu there on the Master's command, and he had been giving her instructions during the whole trip from the control room to the hangar.

Suddenly a man burst into the hangar and ran toward them.

"Master Windu," Skywalker shouted, "I must talk to you."

Windu, who was about to climb on the gunship, stopped in mid step and waited for Skywalker to reach him.

When the young Jedi finally joined the group, Asajj sensed the turmoil in him. He was scared, worried, confused. What had happened to him?

"What is it, Anakin? We are in a hurry. We have just received word that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous. We are on our way to make sure the Chancellor returns emergency powers back to the Senate," Windu urged the younger man.

"He won't give up his power," Skywalker announced. "I've just learned a terrible truth. I think Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord, the one we have been looking for."

A moment of stunned silence fell over the hangar, as all the Jedi's worst hypothesises became realty.

Asajj felt like something was suffocating her, as a series of thoughts flashed into her mind.

Sidious was the leader of the Republic and he had gathered enough power to even unlaw and disband the Jedi Order. He had the power to transform the Jedi in criminals…was it the plan Dooku mentioned so long ago?

"How do you know this?" Master Windu finally asked.

"He knows the ways of the Force. He has been trained to use the dark side," Skywalker replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Then our worst fears have been realized. We must move quickly if the Jedi Order is to survive," Windu turned around to step into the gunship, but Skywalker stopped him with a hand on his arm.

"Master, the Chancellor is very powerful. You will need my help if you are going to arrest him," the young Jedi said quietly.

Windu shook his head. "For your own good, stay out of this affair. I sense a great deal of confusion in you, young Skywalker. There is much fear that clouds your judgment."

"I must go, Master," Skywalker insisted, walking even closer to the older man.

"No. If what you told me is true, you will have gained my trust, but for now remain here. Wait for us in the Council Chamber until we return."

"Yes, Master," Skywalker finally capitulated. He bowed his head, and took a step back.

"Ventress?" Windu called, already on the gunship.

"Yes, Master Windu?" Asajj stepped closer, coming almost shoulder to shoulder with Skywalker.

"Forget the instructions I gave you before. There is only one thing to do. Raise the alarm in the Temple. Alert Master Ti, tell her to recall all the Jedi that are out of the Temple and to seal the gates. We need to be ready if Palpatine retaliates."

"Yes, Master. May be Force be with you."

"And with you."

The gunship rose into the air and left the hangar. Asajj watched it fly away until it got lost in the heavy traffic, then turned to look at Skywalker.

The young man was clearly distressed and it was easy to guess why. Not only one of his best friends had turned out to be a Sith – meaning he had been lying to him for all that time—but Master Windu's had practically admitted he didn't trust Skywalker to know what was right.

Asajj felt badly for him. He looked so lost and upset, and she felt the desire to offer him a comforting word, as Obi-Wan would certainly do in that moment.

However, before she could open her month, Skywalker's face hardened and he turned to look at her with an expression that gave her chills.

"Well Ventress, are you happy now?"

"Why should I be happy?" Asajj asked, confused. She hoped Skywalker was not implying she was a Palpatine's accomplice or something like that.

Skywalker crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her. "It's seems clear from this little scene that Master Windu trust you – an assassin – more than he trusts me."

"How can you say that?"

"Because he confined me in the Council Chambers and gave you the task of putting the Temple on alert. You, a darksider that could very well still be in league with the Sith. I think it's very telling, don't you think?"

"Listen Skywalker…Anakin…I-" Whatever Asajj planned to say died on her lips when Skywalker, after throwing her a long resentful look, turned on his heels and marched out of the hangar.

Asajj watched him go, shaking her head. There was no point in following him. There was nothing she could do for him; probably only Obi-Wan would be able to talk to Skywalker now, and make him listen. But Obi-Wan was far away, and she could only hope he would be back soon.

In the meantime, Asajj would do her duty to the Jedi and the Temple. Taking out her communicator, she dialled Shaak Ti's code and when the Totruga Master answered, Asajj told her the grim news and Master Windu's orders…


	18. Chapter 18

Darkness had fallen on Coruscant. A couple of hours had elapsed since Mace Windu and the other masters had left to go and arrest Palpatine, and no news had yet reached the Temple about the outcome of the mission.

A little time before, while Asajj had been sitting in on a briefing with Shaak Ti and other masters, discussing how to best organize the Temple defences, there had been a shift in the Force.

Some of the masters had commented that maybe it had been Sidious' death to causing it, but Asajj and Shaak Ti had been unsure. The Dark Side still clouded their perceptions, and it was impossible to know what was going on.

Someone had proposed to send a recognition party to the Senate, but Shaak Ti, the only Council Member present, had shaken her head. The Temple was sealed and safe—and it had to remain so.

Once the briefing had ended, Shaak Ti had retired to one of the meditation chambers in order to sound the Force, get past the shroud of the Dark Side, and discover what had happened.

Asajj, instead, not feeling in the mood for meditation, had preferred to take a tour of the Temple and check that each sentinel was where he or she was supposed to be; that every Jedi able to hold a lightsabre was armed and ready; that the children had been taken to the safest rooms of the building.

Theoretically, being just a padawan, Asajj had no authority over masters and knights, but during the past year she had earned the respect of several Council members and it was well known by the Jedi. It was also known, that having lived in a war zone since infancy, she had more experience in warfare matters that many of the Jedi currently stationed in the Temple.

As Master Windu had said not so long ago, the war had bled the Jedi Order dry of its best elements and now, in the Temple, there were only masters with padawans too young to be on the battlefront, teachers, knights wounded in battle, healers, old veterans and children. Asajj could only hope they would be enough to bear the brunt of a possible attack, since it had been impossible to call home the Jedi scattered across the galaxy.

The clattering echo of footsteps in the empty hallway attracted Asajj's attention. What was going on? Looking down from the first floor gallery, she saw Gate Master Jurokk direct toward the main gate.

The main doors of the Temple were slowly swinging in­ward and Asajj's heart skipped a bit. Only someone in possession of the entry code could open them. Had Master Windu finally returned?

Master Jurokk slipped through the slowly widening gap as the opening doors creaked and went outside.

Asajj frowned. Why had he done so? Obviously he knew the person who had dialed the entry code, but why he had gone outside, leaving the gates vulnerable?

The Force shrieked in alarm and without even thinking, Asajj unclipped her lightsabre with one hand, while she used her other elbow to push the closest alarm button.

The klaxons exploded inside the Temple as she leapt from the gallery, down to the main entry, lightsabre ready to strike—and it proved to be her salvation, for she was immediately attacked by a figure cloaked in black, brandishing a blue lightsabre.

Asajj blocked the blow and used a Force push to detangle from her attacker. The dark figure reacted to the push but didn't fly backward as much as it should have, but the action gave her some precious seconds to focus and centre herself.

A focus that was almost destroyed when she looked past the dark figure.

Master Jurokk was lying down on the Temple steps, a burned, charred mass of flesh were his head had been a few moments before. And beyond him…

Clones. Battalions of Clones. Brigades. An entire legion perhaps-- armed with blaster rifles ready to shoot.

And then the dark figure pushed back its hood and Asajj found herself staring at Anakin Skywalker's face.

She recoiled from the darkness she felt in him, something she had felt only in Dooku-- a Jedi turned Sith.

Skywalker had fallen. He had turned to the Dark Side. He had sided with Palpatine.

The young man stared at her with hate, as around them other Jedi appeared, ready to fight.

Asajj knew, after seeing all those clones, that the Jedi's only hope to survival was to keep them outside the Temple and to lock the gates again.

"They must not pass," she hissed to Cin Dralling, who had stepped by her side. "He must not pass."

The lightsabre instructor nodded and began to shout orders to the other Jedi, while Asajj stepped forward.

"Time to put an end to our friendship, Skywalker," she said, pointing at him with her lightsabre.

"Indeed it is, Ventress!" the Sith leapt in the air and landed in front of her, as around them, the battle for the Jedi Temple began.

Asajj swung her lightsabre toward Skywalker, but he parried the blow. The blades clashed, blue on blue, as each of them tried to break through the other's defence.

Skywalker kicked at her, but Asajj avoided it, side stepping and swinging her 'sabre in an arc in an attempt to cut off his right arm. She failed, and Skywalker retaliated by aiming a blow to her head.

Asajj ducked her head and counterattacked, just in time to parry a thrust at her midsection.

The duel continued, and while none of them took the upper hand over the other, Asajj knew Skywalker had an advantage over her. Her wounds had not completely healed yet, and she was still far from her best condition. Her arms were tiring under his rattling blows and her breath was hurried.

Skywalker instead was not tired at all – instead it seemed like he was gaining strength as the combat progressed. The hate he felt for her, no longer controlled by his Jedi training and fuelled by the Dark Side was making him even more powerful he had during their previous fights.

Skywalker was relentless in his attack, pushing against their locked blades with all his might and more than once the tip of his lightsabre arrived so close to her that Asajj its heat on her skin…just a few centimetres more, and she would be dead.

Trying to gain a brief respite from the fight, Asajj flipped backward, trying to distance him from her. Skywalker smiled feral as he closed on her, and not just because he had sensed her condition—but because the more she backed, the more inside the Temple he advanced…and the clones with him.

"No!" Asajj shouted, seeing what was happening. She rushed forward, lightsabre raised but suddenly she felt a terrible pain on her right side. Unable to breath, unable to stay upright, she crashed to her knees, her pain-huddled brain wondering what had happened. Skywalker was still meters away—but the clones were not, and one of them had shot her.

Gritting her teeth, Asajj tried to rise again as Skywalker approached her, but her weakened body betrayed her.

"It ends here, Ventress!" he said stopping by her side and bringing down his lightsabre.

_Good Bye, Obi-Wan,_ _sorry I wasn't good enough_, Asajj thought as the blade closed in, preparing for the burn that would precede her death.

When it didn't came, Asajj opened her eyes and saw that Shaak Ti was fighting with Skywalker.

The Totruga master had saved her life by directing Skywalker's assault on herself.

Asajj would have wanted to go to help her, but she was too seriously wounded—the mere act of breathing cause her unspeakable pain.

Gritting her teeth, Asajj crawled on the pavement until she reached one of the pillars and managed to hide behind it. Once there, she considered her limited options.

She could stay where she was and wait for Skywalker to finish his job, or look for a place where to hide and start a healing trance.

"_Survival is the first goal of any war,"_ Obi-Wan's voice echoed in her mind.

It had been one of the first things he had taught her when she knew him as Ky Narec and Asajj had never forgotten it.

There was no way she could fight again in her condition and she was not ready to let herself be killed by Skywalker or one of the clones that were now storming into the Temple. She was not noble enough to choose to die along with the Jedi that, all around her, were falling, cut down by the blaster fire. She had done what she could for the Order, but her true loyalty was to Obi-Wan.

Inside herself, Asajj knew he was still alive and her only hope to see him again was to find a way to escape the carnage around her.

Thus Asajj gathered all her remaining strength and slowly stood up. Staggering, hiding behind pillars and statues, she reached one of the lifts and slipped inside. She knew a good place where she could hide…she just had to reach it.

----------------------

I don't usually ask for reviews, but this story is very dear to me and I would love if it reached the 100 reviews mark. So please, review! Thanks!


	19. Chapter 19

The first thing Asajj noticed as she regained consciousness, was the silence. But it was not the normal silence that enveloped the Jedi Temple during the nights and early mornings. There was no sense of peace of serenity around her, only pain and death.

The Temple was silent because the alarms had stopped sounding, the blasters had stopped firing, the Jedi had stopped screaming. Because the battle had ended because there was nobody else to fight.

The Force was wrenched with pain and death, with desperation and a sense of betrayal.

Asajj slowly gathered her bearings. Darkness surrounded the cramped space she was in—a small storage room in the second underground level. A difficult-to-see place, Obi-Wan had indicated it to her one day, while telling her how, as a child, he had hidden there for hours and fallen asleep, completely oblivious to the massive child-hunt his disappearance had caused.

Asajj had dragged herself there…when? The previous night? Two nights before? The healing trance had left her with a confused sense of time. She didn't know how long she had been hiding and it didn't really matter. The only important thing was she was still alive and much better than she had been when she had stepped inside the storage room. While still very sore, the blaster wound was mostly healed and she had enough strength to defend herself, if necessary.

Using the Force to sound her surroundings, Asajj sensed there were several people nearby.

_Clones_, she guessed. _They are looking for survivors…in order to kill them too._

Asajj shivered. She knew she could not stay there. Sooner or later the clones would notice the hatch and decide to take a look inside. She had to leave and find a way out of the Temple.

_Perhaps I can reach the hangar_, she thought, mentally recalling the Temple layout. Yes, she could do it, and once in the hangar she would take one of the always ready to fly Delta-7.

Gripping her lightsabre in one hand, Asajj used the other to make the hatch slid open. She sensed there were clones between her and the lift, so she ran toward the emergency staircase.

In order to reach the hangar, she would have to step three levels up, cross the Archives, and direct to the opposite side of the Temple. Difficult but not impossible, for someone as her who had infiltrated enemies' strongholds for years.

Moving quickly and making sure not to make any noise, Asajj started climbing up the staircase. The higher she went, the closer the clones' presence became.

As she reached the first upper level, Asajj took the risk and left the safety of the deserted staircase, to reach one of the galleries and look down from behind a column.

The Temple was crowded with clones, moving between toppled over, broken statues, charred and blackened walls, blood stains…and heaps of bodies. Asajj had never been a maternal woman, but her eyes watered when she saw the bodies of many initiates among the adults'.

The clones and Skywalker didn't even have pity of children! They had been innocent and defenceless and they had been wiped away too.

A moment of distraction and Asajj almost missed the arrival of two clones. She had barely the time to hide behind a half-crumbled pillar, before the troopers stepped into the gallery, walking side by side, blaster rifles armed and ready to fire.

To Asajj's dismay they stopped near her hiding place and moved to look down from the gallery.

"The situation seems under control," one of them said.

"Yes, it seems so, but we must remain on alert. I got news that men keep turning up missing," the other answered, turning to take a long look at the gallery.

"What?" the clone asked and Asajj thought.

"Yes, we had lost contact with several of the small pa­trolling squads and the commander has received reports that strange things are happening."

"Such as?"

"Mysterious noises, doors that slide open or closed without anybody activating them, missing men found dead heaped into closets...things like these."

"Oh. What does the commander says?"

"He says there could be some survivors hiding in the building, but so far no one has located them."

"Well, they certainly are not here. Let's rest for a while. I don't know you, but I have not slept in two days."

"Me neither. Look, let's sit on that pillar-"

The clone never completed the line, because by the time he realized Asajj was there, he and his companion had already lost their heads to her lightsabre.

Asajj used the Force to stop the corpse from falling and gently lowered them behind the pillar.

Then she left the gallery and returned to the inner corridors.

There were Jedi in the Temple and she needed to find them. The blinding-fast move she had had to use to prevent the clones from shooting her or raising the alarm, had showed her she was still far from healed and she had more chance of survival if she joined forces with other Jedi.

Asajj stretched her senses to their fullest, pushing them to go past any Force suggestion the other Jedi might have surrounded themselves with.

She sensed two Force-sensitive in the Temple—and one was Obi-Wan!

He was alive and very close, for he was in the Archives.

Two more clones lost their heads under her blue blade and were hidden in a storage room before Asajj reached the Archives and carefully stepped inside.

The Archives were in a two story chamber arranged in four long halls that all met in a large Rotunda in the centre. Each of the four halls had a central aisle that ran its length, with several tables topped with computer terminals that were linked to the main index catalogue. Off of these main aisles were hundreds of smaller ones that divided the stacks. Each stack contained trillions of datatapes and datacards, carefully sorted and arranged in categories and subcategories.

They had been the heart of the Jedi Temple, storing the knowledge the Order had gained in its twenty-five thousands years of existence.

Asajj had been awed and fascinated by the place since the start. Never in her life she had seen something like that or imagined it could exist. Obi-Wan had explained to her that the archives were the most complete collection of information in the whole galaxy. However when they had looked at what the Archives said of Rattatak, they had discovered they only reported the planet name and location. Asajj had looked forward to fill that gap, but the war had prevented her from doing so. She had thought there would have been time to do it once peace had been restored, but now that time would never come.

Walking along the deserted halls, Asajj noticed the Archives had been spared the fury of the battle and were basically intact…perhaps because the Sith were interested in the knowledge stored there.

Asajj sensed that Obi-Wan and the other Jedi were in the control area where the security records were stored, and she directed there, making sure they could sense her approach.

When she finally stepped inside the small room, Obi-Wan and Master Yoda – she should have known that if someone was going to survive it would be Yoda – were already waiting for her.

"Obi-Wan," she whispered, voice broken by emotion.

"Asajj…I thought you dead," Obi-Wan murmured in reply, stepping closer and pulling her into a strong, but brief embrace.

"Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asked when they separated, noticing her burnt tunic.

"Yes. I was hit by a blaster bolt but I have managed to almost heal the wound."

"And you?"

"I was attacked by my clones. It looks like they have been rebelling all across the galaxy. Master Yoda and I are the only known survivors," Obi-Wan explained, voice loaded with pain.

Asajj nodded and turned to bow to Yoda. Taken as she had been by her reunion with Obi-Wan, she had practically forgotten the diminutive master.

"Forgive me Master," Asajj said. "I hope you are well too."

"Well I am, young Asajj. Pleased I am to see you are too, but time to talk we will have later. Away we must go."

"Wait, Master," Obi-Wan said. "There is something I must know." He moved toward a control panel and pushed some buttons.

Asajj felt her blood chill in her veins.

Obi-Wan did not know. He had no idea of what had happened. That Anakin Skywalker had turned.

"If into the security recordings you go, only pain will you find," Yoda said softly, and looking into his sad, wise eyes, Asajj understood he knew what kind of blow awaited Obi-Wan.

"I must know the truth, Master," Obi-Wan insisted. "Those children had been killed by a lightsabre and I must know who did it."

Obi-Wan fast-forwarded the security records, until the images of a dark figure unleashing death on the Jedi appeared. He then let the records scroll at normal speed, watching closely until the sight of Anakin Skywalker killing a group of padawans made his eyes go wide in horrified understanding.

Obi-Wan kept watching until the moment of the final betrayal arrived: he saw Anakin Skywalker – not Darth Vader – kneel in front of Darth Sidious and call him "master", a title, a teasing and endearment until then reserved only for Obi-Wan.

"I can't watch any more," the Jedi master whispered, fumbling with the controls to switch off the records.

Once done, Obi-Wan leaned on the console, taking deep breathes to calm himself, but his arms would not support him; they buckled and he twisted to the floor. He huddled against the console, blind with pain.

Asajj's heart went to him. She desperately wanted to embrace him and tell him everything would be all right, but she knew that nothing would be "all right" anymore, not after seeing what they had just seen.

Yoda, instead, was not sympathetic at all.

"Warned, you were," he commented, leaning heavily on his gimmer stick.

"I should have let them shoot me..." Obi-Wan then mumbled.

"What?" Asajj asked.

"No. That was already too late—it was already too late at Geonosis. The Zabrak, on Naboo—I should have died there... before I ever brought him here—"

"Stop this, you will!" Yoda gave him a stick-jab in the ribs sharp enough to straighten him up. "Make a Jedi fall, one cannot; beyond even Lord Sidious, this is. Chose this, Skywalker did. Know this you do too, Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. "Yes, I do."

"Good," Yoda nodded in approval as Obi-Wan stood up.

"Those are your orders, Master?"

"Destroy the Sith, we must."

Obi-Wan nodded promptly. "Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Anakin."

Asajj was about to protest, but Yoda gently shook his head.

"To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough, you are not."

"He is like my brother ... I cannot do it," Obi-Wan begged. "Don't make me do it."

"Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained,

gone he is . . . Consumed by Darth Vader."

"I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look," Obi-Wan protested a final time, but even so Asajj already knew he would do his duty—no matter if his heart would break by doing so.

"Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him, you will," Yoda advised.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, Master, you are all right. I know where to start my search."

"I will come with you, Master!" Asajj exclaimed, taking a step closer.

"No, you will not. You are still far from healed."

"But-"

"Asajj, do you remember what I said about your safety before I left for Utapau?"

"Yes."

"It is the same now. Bail Organa is helping us, and you are going to stay with him as we deal with the Sith."

"Yes, Master," Asajj acquiesced, for, as much as she did not like to be left behind, she knew that in her current condition she would be more a liability than a help.

"Good," Yoda approved with a sparkle in his eyes. "Time to leave it is. To face the Sith we must go. Make them wait, we cannot."

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I don't usually ask for reviews, but this story is very dear to me and I would love if it reached the 100 reviews mark. There are about 100 people regularly reading this story, 13 or so have put it in their alerts, so why so few are reviewing? Are you waiting for this to be completed? This story is complete, and the more reviews I get, the more regularly I post...otherwise I tend to forget to post, although I do it sooner or later, because I have too respect of those few who regularly review to stop posting as it happens too often on FFnet.


	20. Chapter 20

Senator Organa's ship, the _Tantive IV_, was a state of art vessel. It was a recently refurbished CR90, with bright white walls and grey metal floors. The hallways formed a loosely circular path around the central conference room. The ship also housed living quarters, formal dining room, other conference rooms, and an engine room.

After leaving the Temple, Obi-Wan had escorted Asajj and Yoda to the _Tantive IV_ and then had jumped on a speeder and gone away.

There had been no farewell between them, no embraces or tears or lines to remember, just a simple, "May the Force be with you."

Asajj had watched Obi-Wan's speeder until it disappeared into the traffic, then she had obeyed Master Yoda's soft command.

"Meditate, we should."

Which they had done, retiring in one of the smaller conference rooms. Asajj had expected to have great difficulties in finding her centre, but Yoda's had guided her, helping her to relax and focus. To breath in all her worries and fears, and release them into the Force while exhaling.

That state of peace, however, had not lasted long, because Obi-Wan had called to report his progresses.

"_Master Yoda,"_ his curt message had said. _"I'm on board of Senator Amidala's vessel, directed to an unknown location. When I visited her, I sensed she knew where Anakin was, but she refused to tell me. I have the feeling she is now going to reach him, and this is why I hid on her ship."_

"Good, young Obi-Wan. Keep us posted when arrived you have. Attack Sidious I will then. Coordinated our efforts must be," Yoda had answered.

"_Yes, Master. Kenobi out."_

That had happened hours ago, and while Master Yoda had spent the time in deep communion with the Force, preparing for the task ahead, Asajj had not been able to follow his example.

Thus she had toured the ship, exploring every recess in the attempt to keep herself busy, but now she had nothing else to do but wait—something she hated to do.

Asajj liked to act and doing nothing was an anathema for her. The fact that there was nothing she could do to help Obi-Wan or Yoda, did not make things easier to accept. It just made her curse herself for letting herself be wounded in the first place.

She stepped inside the conference room just as Master Yoda's comlink chimed.

The green master opened his eyes and was immediately alert. "Yes, Master Kenobi?"

"_We're landing now. Are you ready?"_

"I am. I will be in position in a few minutes."

A moment of silence, during which Asajj feared the communication might have been interrupted.

"_Master Yoda... if we don't see each other again-"_

"Think not of after, young Obi-Wan. Always now, even eternity will be."

"_Yes…Master Yoda?"_

"Yes?"

"_Can you tell Asajj something in my behalf?"_

"Tell it to her yourself. Here she is."

Yoda gave her the comlink and Asajj took it with slightly trembling fingers.

"I'm here, Master."

"_Asajj…no matter what happens, I will be with you. Don't let you emotions overwhelm you again. Act out of justice, not revenge, and never give in to your rage. Most importantly, remember that I love you, Little One."_

Asajj swallowed hard. "I love you too, Obi-Wan—and I promise: I won't fail you again."

"_You never did. Now I must go. May the Force be with you."_

"And with you, Obi-Wan."

The transmission ceased and Asajj gave the comlink back to Yoda.

The ancient master was looking at her with a strange expression.

"Love you, Obi-Wan does," he stated.

Asajj nodded. There was no point in denying the evidence. "As I love him—as my master and my lover."

"Uhm."

"I know it is forbidden, but please believe me: Obi-Wan has always put his duty to the Force and the Jedi before the attachment he has for me. Don't be disappointed with him," Asajj pressed.

"Disappointed I am not. Good for him you are. Love you he does as a strong, selfless Jedi does—deeply but ready to let go. Right this is—but not all as selfless the Jedi are. Choose we could not who allow to love could be or and who forbidden to love would be. Resentment and jealousy it would have caused. So attachment forbidden was to all the Jedi. Now, no longer important it is. Jedi are almost no more. Rules no longer matter—but survival does. Love Obi-Wan as he loves you, young Asajj, and be ready to let him go should not he return. Obi-Wan would want it."

Asajj nodded, wondering if Yoda had somehow guessed her intention had been to kill herself should Obi-Wan die.

Had been—but no longer was.

Asajj now understood that killing herself would be to disrespect Obi-Wan's memory, teachings and love. Her duty to him – and to the galaxy – was to stay alive and fight another day.

"I understand, Master Yoda."

"Sure I was you would do. Good Jedi you are. Now, go I must. Visit an Emperor, I must. Make him wait, I cannot." And with a final glance, the diminutive master hobbled away.

Asajj's waiting began again.

**-----**

The atmosphere in the _Tantive IV_'s briefing room was heavy—with failure and defeat.

Asajj knew those feelings well, having experienced them more than once in her life and that made it easier for her to understand what her companion was feeling.

Master Yoda had failed.

Darth Sidious was still alive, and had launched a massive man-hunt on Coruscant trying to locate the Jedi master.

Yoda had barely escaped with Bail Organa's help and soon afterward the _Tantive IV_ had taken off and left the planet. They were now in deep space, waiting for Obi-Wan to contact them.

Master Yoda had been subdued since his return, and he looked much older than he had been before.

"Failed I have," he had said when Asajj had rushed to meet him just after he had boarded the ship. "Strong enough, I was not. In exile I will go now."

"In exile, Master? Why?" Asajj had asked. "We can try again! Obi-Wan will return and, as soon as I recover, we can go and face Sidious together."

Yoda had just shaken his head and evaded her question, walking away along the corridor.

Asajj had watched him go, puzzled by his words. Did they mean Sidious was so powerful they would have no chance even facing him in three? Perhaps. After all, Mace Windu and the other three masters had not been enough to kill the Sith.

Sighing, Asajj had followed Yoda to the small briefing room they had used before. She had thought that waiting with him would be better than waiting alone. At the very least Yoda's presence, and the respect she had for him, would help her to control herself. She didn't want to start pacing again, as she had done while he was gone.

Standing by a window, eyes closed and not seeing the stars around them, Yoda had fallen in deep meditation, delving deeply in the Force currents.

Asajj had even had the eerie sensation there was someone else in the room with them, that Yoda was communing with a presence…as if another Force sensitive was present.

She had banished the idea from her mind as a fruit of her continued tension and lack of rest, and envied Yoda's capacity to immerse himself in the Force even in a moment like that.

The door slid open and both Asajj and the Jedi Master turned to look at it. "Excuse me, Master Yoda; Obi-Wan Kenobi has made contact!"

Asajj's heart started beating faster. Obi-Wan was alive! She forced herself to listen to what Organa was telling.

"He said he has Senator Amidala with him, and that she needs medical attention. I directed him to the Polis Massa settlement. They have a very advanced medical facility. We will meet him there."

Yoda nodded. "Thank you, Senator. Good news this is. A little lighter my heart is now."

Senator Organa bowed his head and left the room, while Yoda turned to face Asajj.

"Relax you can now, young Asajj. Alive he is. Alone you won't be."

Asajj nodded, "Yes Master," she whispered, thankful he had not reprimanded her for her too evident fears.

"Now meditate we will. When Obi-Wan we see, discuss our future we must. Advice from the Force, we need."

"Yes, Master," Asajj nodded again, before lowering herself on her knees.

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Reviews...please?


	21. Chapter 21

**To all who reviewed yesterday, there is something wrong with FFnet. It has ****decided that the reviews you submitted don't 'exist' (even though they came up in my inbox) and therefore it is impossible to reply to them. So, I can't thank you privately, just publically. **

**So thank you Kate Poem (your English is not weak at all!), ObiBettina7 (you'll get a happy end, promise!), Ann Jinn, Kenobifan, Pronker, (ffnet is still playacting!), ****Yuuma.**

This should have been the next to last chapter, but tomorrow I'll leave for vacation and I'll have to deal with a dial-up connection for two weeks. So I've decided to copy and past tomorrow's chapter to this one and make this one the last one.

Enjoy!

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Asajj was standing in an observation room of the Polis Massa Medical Centre, from which she, Obi-Wan, Bail Organa and Yoda were watching what was going on in one of adjoining surgery rooms.

A group of medical droids was currently examining Padme Amidala, who was pregnant with Skywalker's children.

The young Senator had been unconscious when Obi-Wan had carried her inside, and Asajj wondered why.

What had happened to her? What had happened to Obi-Wan? He had not said a single word since his arrival, but retreated in the farthest area of the observation room.

Asajj approached him, resolute to offer him her support, whatever he wanted it or not.

She moved by his side and brushed the back of his hand with hers, feeling gratified when he gripped her fingers.

Encouraged by it, by the signal Obi-Wan welcomed her presence and touch, Asajj put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her side.

Obi-Wan began to shake, and his back moved as he took long, deep breaths, trying to control himself.

"Shhhh," Asajj soothed, "Calm down…"

"It's easier to say than do…you were not there…you don't know what happened…" Obi-Wan, said, turning his haunted eyes on her.

"Then tell me, I'm here to listen."

"We travelled to Mustafar, a volcanic planet. When we arrived, Padme went to confront Anakin about what he had done. I listened to their conversation from inside the ship, hoping she might be able to make him see reason, but he didn't. So, I stepped out and Anakin…Anakin turned against Padme. He accused her of being my accomplice and Force chocked her." Obi-Wan shook his head. "Do you understand, Asajj? For their entire conversation, Anakin continued saying everything he had done had been to keep Padme safe…that he needed the dark powers to save her…and then he tried to kill her!"

Obi-Wan covered his eyes with a hand, as if he was trying to erase what would be forever impressed in his retinas.

"What happened next?"

"We fought-- he refused to see reason, and we fought…and I won. I-I cut his legs and flesh arm and he fell near the lava river, bursting in flames."

"Did he die?"

"I don't know…Killing him would have been the merciful thing to do…but I wasn't feeling merciful. I left him to the will of the Force, and walked away…only time will say if it was the right decision." Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes, fighting tears, and Asajj tightened her hold on his shoulders. "Asajj…I wanted to save him. I didn't want to fight him—but he was already lost. Consumed by the Dark Side, as Yoda said. When he fell, I hoped he would call for me. That he would ask my help…call my name…I would have helped him without a second thought…but he didn't. He just screamed he hated me." Obi-Wan took a shuddering breath and looked at her with red-rimmed eyes. "I failed, Asajj. I wasn't a good master for him. I failed him as I have failed you."

Asajj's eyes hardened. She could not allow Obi-Wan to be swallowed by guilt. She had to snap him out of his desperation.

"Don't say idiocies, Kenobi," she almost hissed, grabbing his lowered chin to make him look at her. "You didn't fail me and certainly you didn't fail Skywalker. As Yoda said, nothing can make a Jedi fall if he doesn't choose to do it. If anything, it was Skywalker that failed you." Asajj would have probably said more, but the arrival of a medical droid stopped her.

"How is she?" Obi-Wan asked, voice still rough.

"Medically, she is completely healthy," the droid reported, "but for reasons we can't explain, we are losing her."

"She's dying?" Obi-Wan was shocked.

"We don't know why. She has lost the will to live. We need to operate quickly if we are to save the babies."

"Babies?" interjected Senator Organa, who had walked closer to them.

"She's carrying twins."

"Save them, we must," Yoda commented, hitting the pavement with his stick.

"Yes, Sir. We will do our best," the droid answered, before returning to the operating room.

Obi-Wan and Asajj exchanged a gaze and she saw that despite the last tragic news, his eyes were clearer.

"Master Kenobi?" Bail Organa called, walking by them and touching Obi-Wan's upper arm. Her master looked at the senator with questioning eyes.

"The chief medical droid attending Padme is gesturing to you. I think it wants you to go there."

Obi-Wan nodded, and walked inside the surgical room to stop by Padme's side. Asajj watched as he leant forward and took one of the Senator's hands in his, talking to her as she gave birth to her children.

When Padme Amidala's body relaxed and she died, Obi-Wan just stood there, one of the twins in his arms and looked at Asajj through the transpisteel separating them. And in those eyes, there was both the pain for the loss of a friend and the hope he felt in the small life he held in his arms.

---

Asajj, Obi-Wan, Master Yoda and Bail Organa sat around the table on the Tantive IV main conference room, gathered to discuss the future of the Skywalker twins…and their own.

"To Naboo, send the Senator's body..." Yoda suggested. "Pregnant, she must still appear. Hidden, safe, the children must be kept. Foun­dation of the new Jedi Order, they will be."

"We must take them somewhere so that the Sith will not sense their presence," replied Obi-Wan.

"Split up, they should be."

"Yes," nodded Asajj. "This way, even if the Sith find one, the other may survive."

Bail Organa smiled gently and interjected, "My wife and I would like to take the girl. We've always talked of adopting a baby girl. She will be loved by us."

Both Obi-Wan and Yoda nodded in approval. It was a good choice.

"And what of the boy?" Obi-Wan asked.

Master Yoda's ears perked up and he almost smiled. "To be loved, he needs too. Trust him to you and young Asajj I do. Raise him well, you will do. Keep him safe, you will do. Train him well you will do."

Obi-Wan turned to look at her with an interrogative gaze, "Is it all right for you, Asajj?"

"Yes, of course. I'm honoured by Master Yoda's trust."

"Honour is not. Difficult task it is."

"We know, Master, and we promise we won't fail you," Obi-Wan answered for both of them.

"Of course, you won't. You never did."

"Then this is settled," Bail Organa commented, pleased with their decision.

"Yes."

They all stood up as Yoda said, "Until the time is right, disappear we will."

Bail Organa then bowed and left the room, eager to contact his wife and tell her of baby Leia.

Obi-Wan and Asajj were about to leave too, when Yoda stopped them.

"Master Kenobi, Padawan Ventress wait a moment. Something important to say I have."

They all sat down again and Yoda continued, "Raising a child a great task will be, but leave time for training it will."

"Training?" Obi-Wan repeated, puzzled.

The older master almost smiled. "Yes, training. An old friend has learned the path to immortality."

"Who?"

"One who has returned from the netherworld of the Force to train me . . . your old Master, Qui-Gon Jinn."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened in stunned surprise. "Qui-Gon?" he exclaimed. "But, how could he accomplish this?"

"The secret of the Ancient Order of the Whills, he studied. How to commune with him, I will teach you."

"I will be able to talk with him?"

"How to join the Force, he will train you both. Your consciousness you will retain, when one with the Force you become. Even your physical self, perhaps."

"Eternal life…" Asajj murmured with wonder. Was it really possible?

"The ultimate goal of the Sith…" added Obi-Wan.

"Indeed. Yet achieve it, they never can. By the release of self, it comes, not by the exaltation of self. Through compassion, it comes, not greed. The answer to darkness, love is."

"To become one with the Force and yet still have influence...," Obi-Wan mused, looking at Asajj with bright eyes and smiling that soft smile he reserved only for her.

Asajj's eyes rejoiced to see him again so happy. Oh, she had no doubt the emotional trauma of the past days was far from forgotten. It would never be forgotten—how could it ever be? The destruction of the Temple, the slaughter of the Jedi, Skywalker's betrayal…they would all return to haunt Obi-Wan's waking and sleeping hours. But now, there was the hope for a better future to help Obi-Wan to carry on. That hope, her love, a child to raise and the return of his master would help Obi-Wan to keep the desperation at bay during his lowest moments, and the Jedi he was would do the rest.

The rebirth of the Jedi Order had just started, even if nobody but her knew it—or perhaps not, for Master Yoda was looking at her with a knowing look.

Asajj smiled, bowed her head in acknowledgement and prepared to listen to the old master's lesson.

**Epilogue**

Asajj Ventress looked around her, at the place that was now her home.

It consisted of a white-washed structure made in duracrete built against a cavern in a rock. This way, the inner rooms – her and Obi-Wan's bedroom, and Luke's nursery – were kept isolated from the heat of Tatooine's suns and away from the sands that managed to infiltrate everywhere.

The cavern also reminded Asajj of her childhood on Rattatak, of her parents and of the day she had showed her home to a young stranger fallen from the sky.

When it had come time for her and Obi-Wan to choose a place where to settle and raise Luke, Asajj had proposed they moved to Rattatak. It was her homeworld, and both she and Obi-Wan knew how to move on it.

However, further consideration had lead to the elimination of Rattatak from their list of possible refuges.

First of all, Asajj was too well known on her birth planet. She might have renounced to rule it when she had joined the Jedi, but she was still idolized by her people. Keeping her presence hidden would be an impossible task. The news of her return would travel, and sooner or later they would reach the ears of some imperial agent. Which meant that Darth Vader would soon follow and hunt her until he killed her, as he had been doing with all the fugitive Jedi he had found in the past six months.

Asajj remembered the day she and Obi-Wan had learned that the man who had been Anakin Skywalker was still alive.

They had been still on Polis Massa, weighing the pros and cons of possible hiding places, when Bail Organa had sent them a holonet recording, showing the Emperor and his right arm, Darth Vader, a towering being covered head to foot by a black armour, his face hidden by a metallic mask.

Obi-Wan had been horrified by the sight and berated himself for not killing the Sith when he had the chance to do it.

But, wondered Asajj, could he have really done it? Obi-Wan had said to her on Polis Massa that he had not killed Skywalker because it would have been too merciful, but was it the real reason? Or was it that Obi-Wan simply could have not brought himself to kill the young man he loved so much?

Whatever the reason, Darth Vader was still alive, and the need to keep Luke away from him forced they hands.

There was only one place where Vader would never set a foot on, if only out of fear to reawaken Anakin Skywalker, and it was Tatooine.

The planet where Anakin Skywalker had been born and lived until the Jedi found him. The planet where his mother had died—another reason for Vader to stay away.

Thus they had moved to Tatooine and used the funds Bail Organa had given them to buy a medium sized moisture farm near the Jungland Wastes. It was isolated enough that people didn't reach it by chance and without being noticed, but still close enough to a town to allow them to come and go within half a day. They went to town rarely, only to buy the supplies they needed and sell part of the water produced by their moisture vaporators.

Truth to tell, with the money Senator Organa had given them, Asajj and Obi-Wan didn't need to make the farm productive. They could have lived without working, but Obi-Wan had pointed out it could have attracted unwanted attention to them, since nobody in their right mind and with enough money would ever retire on Tatooine for a life of leisure. Also they did not want to stir the interest of the many criminals living on the planet, that would be certainly tempted to rob them if they suspected their riches. Thus the money had been safely hidden, to be used only in emergency situations, as Obi-Wan and Asajj worked to put food on their table.

All in all, Asajj considered as she exited outdoor, it was a life that suited her. She was spending it at her master and lover's side, so what more could she want?

She crossed the yard in front of the house and walked toward the low cliff where she knew Obi-Wan would be—for he was always there this time of the day.

As she approached, Obi-Wan turned to face her and she smiled when she saw the other reason her current life was so worth living, nestled in her lover's arms.

Luke.

Asajj had never considered herself a maternal woman. Yet, from the moment she had held the baby in her arms for the first time, she had loved him—and not just as the Jedi Order's hope of redemption.

She had loved him as her child and promised to raise him with the same love her parents – even on a war-ravaged world – had given her.

Asajj reached Obi-Wan and Luke atop the cliff, and put her arm around her lover's lower back.

Obi-Wan smiled, eyes bright with affection, for her and the child gurgling happily in his arms. Then he returned to admire the sunset, and she imitated him.

As they both watched the slowly setting suns, Asajj thought that, even if the night of the Dark Side had fallen on the galaxy, there, on that small forsaken planet, they could dream of the dawn of the day when the Light would triumph again.

_Oh yes,_ Asajj thought, _when the time is right, the Jedi will return, stronger than before—and the Sith will have no chance._

It was a day worth waiting for.

It was a day Asajj Ventress planned not to miss.

THE END

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That's all. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please let me know your thoughts! And make this fic reach the 100-reviews mark! I need 16 more!


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